Dear BPCWA worshipper, We are approaching Christmas, a day Christians around the world set aside to commemorate the incarnation of our Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible doesn’t state that 25^th December is a special feast day, and neither do we have an accurate record of the exact day our Saviour was born into this world. If so, how should Christians consider this day?   

Christ’s incarnation is a pivotal day in mankind’s history. To consider how important commemorating Christmas is, we must first know how critical Christ’s birth is to us. The importance of an event is often signified by the announcements leading up to it. Nothing can be more stupendous than having the angels bring “good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luk 2:10-11). The Saviour of the world and every past, present, and future generation is born! What we often miss is the sense of joy and anticipation even before this day. John the Baptiser was to “go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways” (Luk 1:76). Such was the preparation God ordained to publicise and declare the Messiah’s impending arrival into this sin-filled world.

Christ’s incarnation showed His tender mercies towards you. Receiving the news of John’s impending birth and mission, Zacharias, “filled with the Holy Ghost” (Luk 1:67) testified of “the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, 79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luk 1:78-79). There was real anticipation and joy at the news that the awaited Messiah would be born as promised. The Lord Jesus would be called Immanuel, God with us. “Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; hail the incarnate Deity, pleased with us in flesh to dwell, Jesus, our Immanuel”. What condescending love!

Christ’s incarnation was the apex of anticipation. A third account that we see of the yearning for Christ’s coming was when Joseph and Mary “brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord” (Luk 2:22). According to “the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord” (Luk 2:23). By God’s arrangement, “there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. 26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (Luk 2:25-26). There was a faithful remnant in Israel who would be comforted to see the coming of the promised Redeemer. While many would not want to die until they had seen their children marry or their grandchildren born, Simeon’s heart instead yearned to see the coming of God’s promised seed in his lifetime. After taking the babe in his arms, Simeon contentedly declared, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word” (Luk 2:29). 

Christ’s day of incarnation – what does it mean to you? If we look at our lives, chances are that most of us celebrate many special days. As a church, we celebrate each anniversary as a milestone of God’s goodness and faithfulness. In our families, things are no different. Some couples may mark out their wedding anniversaries or even the date of the proposal! Many families celebrate the birthdays of every member in varying degrees. The list is by no means exhaustive.  Many will shower the birthday person with gifts and extra affection because of their birthday. Some would be upset if their spouse forget their birthdays and even expect their spouse to drop everything to spend the exact day with them. Some go to unnecessary (and even ungodly) lengths to indulge the person’s whims, devote that and the adjacent days, setting aside even activities that they ought to do. They do so because they feel it is a demonstration of their love. Certainly, there is space in the Christian’s life for remembering our special days (though we must remember that our priority must always be to seek first the kingdom of heaven). My point is that for many, there are days that we want to spend with loved ones because they hold a place in our hearts. We start planning way ahead and even mark it out in our calendars. Although it doesn’t cover every situation, setting aside certain special days often reflects our love and care for the other party or the recognition of their significance to us, and how much they mean to us.

How do you spend Christmas? Let us now consider the occasion of Christmas. I would not hesitate to say that it is not the precise date that Christ was born. But it does mark in man’s calendars around the world a time of commemoration of when He came to earth. I know of some people born during periods of turmoil, such as during the periods of wars. They do not know the actual date of their births. Their identification papers simply state an arbitrary date for the date and year of their birth. Their families, fully aware that the date is not accurate, celebrate these officially recorded days as a gesture of their love. Your loved ones may not tell you explicitly that your taking time to celebrate the day with them means something to them. But you would naturally do so because either they or the day means something to you – even if it is not on the exact day. We do this readily for our loved ones. But would you feel the same way when it comes to commemorating the day Christ came into this world as your Messiah? Compare that to how you think about having to miss a loved one’s birthday celebration with the majority of the family. Do you spend more time preparing for celebrations and protecting your time to be at a loved one’s birthday or for remembering Christ’s birthday (especially considering all the above facts about His incarnation)? Or do you think “it’s not the actual day anyway”, “I can remember Him at home or somewhere on my own, and don’t need to join the family celebrations”? Or that “it is not a Christian holy day, so there’s no need to fuss over it”. I hope you get the picture. Even when we do come for the Christmas Worship Service, let us remind ourselves to set our hearts to have a sincere desire to praise Christ out of love for Him, not for the “festive mood” and songs. Many often think that marking His death and resurrection is more important, because it demonstrates His triumph over death and the effects of sin on our behalf. However, we know that the day He was born, Christ took on Himself the form of man, something which He will bear for the rest of eternity. It is a day when Love was incarnated for man to behold. Behold the love of God that gave of Himself to redeem His creatures!  Surely that thought itself must be something that strikes a chord in our hearts to want to show Him our love for what He has done. Let us search our hearts to really consider and compare our view of our Saviour in relation to our view of our families or loved ones. May this Christmas be one where our thirst and love for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ will be rekindled once again in our minds, hearts, and actions. The God of love sent and gave His very best. What kind of love do we give Him in return?

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (Joh 3:16)

Yours in our Lord’s service,
Pastor