[Faith-talk] Our Perspective On Christmas

[Paul]

Perhaps you are among the many people for whom Christmas is not a season of joy but a trial and a challenge.  For you, Christmas cheer and the reason for celebration have long since been lost in the fog of confusion, disappointment, or loneliness.  It isn't a season to be enjoyed--it has become a season to be endured.

Maybe that's why one's perspective is so important.  The perspectives of Mary and Joseph can help us to rediscover the marvelous reality that Christmas is not a season after all.  It's a gift--a gift expressing the extent to which our loving God was willing to go to make us His own.  For Mary and Joseph, there was wonder in those events.  The wonder of who Christ is and why He came are only the beginning.  The wonder of what that can mean in our lives is beyond imagination.

In John 1:12 we read an important promise: "As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name."

Imagine, the Maker of heaven and earth is the One who makes it possible for us to know Him, to find forgiveness for all of our wrongdoing, and to receive the privilege and wonder of becoming part of His family!

God did all that by sending His Son on that first Christmas.  If you will talk to Him, admit your failings, acknowledge His authority over your life, and accept the gift of forgiveness His Son has made possible, you can know the greatest of all wonders--the wonder of new life in Christ.

The foregoing was adapted from _Windows _On _Christmas, by Bill Crowder, Discovery House Publishers and the booklet _Mary _& _Joseph: _Reflecting _On _the _Wonder _of _Christmas, copyright 2007

The undersigned hopes and prays that this devotional article has been a blessing to you.  Your obedient servant of the Lord, Paul Barnabas