Background:
Christmas is all about celebrating the birth of “Christ” Jesus … not Santa Claus, not giving and getting, not friends, not even family. Not to say that the traditions that surround Christmas are unimportant. But when our traditions interfere with or take the place of the true purpose of celebrating Christmas, we miss the whole point of Christmas. The focus for Christians at Christmas should be on Christ and not traditions. When Christ entered the world as a human baby He came from heaven to earth as the very specific living expression of His Father God. In reality, God became Flesh through His Son Jesus. This was God’s gift to man. Through the life of Christ, God would show us and even speak to us all that He ever wanted us to know about Himself.
Scripture:
John 1:1-5, 10-12, 14 (NKJV)
1 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. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.
14 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.
Discussion:
The “Word” referred to by John is Jesus. The Greek word for “Word” is “Logos.” John also refers to God as the “Word” using the term “Logos.” The personhood of Jesus was there from the beginning along with God, as was the Holy Spirit. So God=Jesus=Holy Spirit! Christians refer to this three-personhood nature of God as the Holy Trinity. The enormous gift from God was thus the gift of Himself. The gift of Jesus was (and is) personal to each of us as individuals. Through Jesus, God revealed (and continues to reveal) Himself to us. As the source of all wisdom and knowledge, God communicates Himself to us through Jesus. He is the Creator of all that was made. He dwelt among us so that we could behold Him and His glory. He alone is full of grace and truth.
If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, then you have the personhood of the Holy Spirit indwelling you. There is no comparison of God’s gift of Jesus to any other gift.
Reflection:
Christian, as you celebrate Christmas don’t forget that the Word, Jesus, is the very specific living expression of His Father God. As you give and receive gifts and enjoy your family and friends keep the focus on Jesus and the fact that The Word Became Flesh!
Has your life been transformed by the living Word, Jesus? God still speaks to us today through His Son Jesus. Are you plugged in? Is Jesus your Lord and Savior? If not, He can be! Refer to the following link for help in accepting Jesus personally:
jimdavenport 
Thank you for this devotion. It is simple and so true- no reason we should not worship the true meaning of Christmas.
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Reblogged this on jimdavenport.
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Here’s a thoughtful comment and my response to this article I thought worthy of sharing.
Jim Davenport
On Sat, Dec 24, 2011 at 10:41 AM
Thanks Jim, It’s really great to hear hear from someone who has the perspective of what Christmas is really about. I’m so tired of hearing about how much more or less consumers are spending this year, about all the special sales all the merchants are having, about how early stores will open, about riots at stores that are selling sneakers that aren’t worth a nickel, let alone over a hundred dollars. I often wonder how all this got started and most of all, how we can get back to what it was before – if it ever was.
Hope you and Charlotte have a great Christmas.
Fran
To franalbers
Fran, thank you for your insightful response. I do believe in simpler times we did dwell more on the Savior and less on traditions at Christmas time. It is especially important that Christians have the proper perspective about Christmas and what it is really about. So much of the Christmas season has bowed to political correctness and is motivated by wrong values. I suppose as we get older that it is much easier to see that we have been swept up in commercialism and lost our focus on the values that are everlasting.
God bless you and I hope you enjoy your Christmas celebration.
Jim D,.
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Reason for the Season; good reminder.
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