Why is Christmas a season of joy? Is it only because people have collectively decided it’s time to be merry? Or could there be a deeper meaning behind it? Why do we commemorate a manger scene 2000 years ago? What’s the meaning behind Christmas joy? And what has Christmas joy got to do with us?

Indeed. What’s the point of all this? The point is very simple and sometimes we overlook it. The same way that we might overlook the meaning of our grandparents’ birthdays. If we only think of our grandparents’ birthdays as their celebrations we miss the deeper meaning of their birthdays (and yet, celebrating a person is already a worthwhile cause). The deeper meaning is that grandchildren would not be alive if grandparents had not been born. Hence, when we celebrate our grandparents’ birthdays, we also celebrate the joy of being alive.

The meaning behind Christmas joy

The same way if we only think of Christmas as Jesus’ birthday, we miss the deeper meaning behind it. You see, without Jesus, we could not be spiritually alive. Our sins would still be on us and that’s why we would still be separated from God. We’d still be spiritually dead. This gives us the right approach to Christmas. Without Christmas, we’d still be without our savior. Thankfully, God knew what had to be done.

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. (Matthew 1:21, ESV)

So Jesus (which means “The Lord saves”) came into the world to die for our sins so we could be made right with God. So we could be made spiritually alive. This makes Christmas the most joyous time. Of course, we celebrate Jesus, our savior, the reason behind the season. But we also celebrate the gift he gave us: the joy of being spiritually alive. The nativity reminds us of this amazing event in history that changed everything. Now we don’t need to stay spiritually dead. We are welcome into warmth and light and freedom in Jesus. When we embrace this amazing grace, we are forgiven and receive joy upon joy. Real, authentic Christmas joy.

 

Gracious God,
Your gift to us is beyond measure.
Thank you so much for sending Jesus to save us.
Enable us to realize the meaning of this in our lives.
Help us to celebrate the joy of being spiritually alive.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: How do you celebrate the joy of being spiritually alive this Christmas?

Photo by Osman Rana on Unsplash.