Devotion 3: The World Is Going To Learn Today
“Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’ And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt.” Matthew 2:13–14
The world has tried to stop Christmas since the very start. King Herod was willing to murder thousands of children to stop the coming of the Messiah, and the sad part is that the world continues to do the same thing today. More and more, we see Christmas shifting from a celebration of Jesus’ birth to a season centered on gifts and good food. We hear that “Happy Holidays” is preferred over “Merry Christmas.” The true meaning of Christmas is treated as something subjective, whatever you make it out to be.
In our passage from Matthew, the first Christmas was a real battlefield. Just as Jesus was born, an edict was issued in Bethlehem that all boys two years old and under were to be killed. A war was waged on the true meaning of Christmas. The world was trying to snuff out the Savior, but the world found out that day - you cannot stop Christmas.
Oftentimes, we get bogged down by the world and feel there is nothing we can do to combat the worldly melee at Christmas time. However, when the world pushes a different agenda than the true meaning of Christmas (that Jesus was born as the perfect sacrifice to pay the penalty for sin), Scripture shows us how to respond. Romans 12:2 tells us not to be conformed to the world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Christmas is not playtime when it comes to the mission of the Gospel. The world cannot have Christmas without the Good News of Jesus Christ, and as Christians, we cannot let the world conform us to its mold of materialism and Santa.
For families, this means having real conversations with children about the true meaning of Christmas and participating in events that are centered around the Gospel. For the church, this means focusing conversations at work, with family, and with friends on Christ at Christmas. We often hear the question, “What does Christmas mean to you?” This is the perfect opportunity to share the hope of Christ that we hold.
For the individual, this is a call to pray like never before. Pray for revival in the world, pray for sinners to come to Christ, and pray that you are transformed by the Gospel daily. Christmas is not just a season. It is a declaration that the Savior has come. Let us stand firm and proclaim that truth.