Talk Tuesday-What's So Merry About Christmas? Pt.1

The answer is found in the CHRIST of Christmas. The birth of JESUS was announced to the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 7:14) approximately 700 years earlier. “22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 'Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,' which is translated, 'God with us,'” Matthew 1:22-23. The angel Gabriel said to the virgin, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS,” Luke 1:30-31.

Who is this JESUS that we celebrate at Christmas? “15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers,” Colossians 1:15-16. The term Incarnation refers to the second person of the Trinity, JESUS CHRIST, the Logos or Son of GOD made flesh. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.2 He was in the beginning with God,” John 1:1-2, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth,” John 1:14. JESUS CHRIST, the Incarnate One, the Son of GOD, is fully GOD and fully man, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,” Colossians 2:9. He is the Saviour of the world, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29.

LOVE is what's truly merry about Christmas. Join us next week for the 2nd instalment of 'What's So Merry About Christmas' as we reflect on how the celebration of the birth of the Incarnate One, JESUS CHRIST, who is 'God with us', is truly about a celebration of a love so divine that it washes away all our sins, heals all our hurts, restores all our brokenness, and gives us beauty for ashes.