Why Christmas is Special

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Why Christmas Is Special

“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him” (I John 4:9).

What’s so special about Christmas? The stores would have us think Christmas is all about giving gifts. 

Oh sure, God came to earth, we know that part. He had dropped by occasionally before, to make an announcement. All those other times, people either saw God or one of His angels, who may have stayed around for a few hours.

At Christmas God came to live on earth for a few years. Why is that special? People were accustomed to God as one whom they worshiped, but they did not see Him.

Prophets told!

Every now and then a prophet would tell the people God was coming. The prophet dropped hints, according to God’s directions, so people would know what to look for when God arrived.

Sometimes what the prophet said the people could not grasp. They thought of God as always helping them when they were in trouble. The idea of God ever suffering in any way seemed inconceivable.

Just a conquering hero?

They only thought of God as a conquering hero. When He wasn’t delivering them from a dilemma, He was giving them rain so they could raise crops and live a normal life.

One of the prophets said when God came to earth, He would heal people. What a terrific idea!

The same prophet said, “He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: He shall gently lead those that are with young” (Isaiah 40:11).

Jesus said about Himself, “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine” (John 10:14).

Surprise! He came for Gentiles and Jews

Sometimes a prophet would tell the people God was going to open the doors to let the Gentile nations receive His blessings. That was a jolt! The Jews, who lived in Israel, regarded themselves as special because God had set them apart to be His people.

They kept conveniently forgetting they were supposed to share their good news about God with people who lived in other countries. 

God’s people frequently failed to carry out His instructions to them. God was not deterred!

Jesus carried out God’s Plan

Part of God’s plan was for Him to come to earth to live. When Jesus was born as a human, He was carrying out God’s plan.

While Jesus was on earth He focused on the Jews as His special project. Jesus, as both God and man in one person, was called to work with the Jews in particular.

On several occasions though, Jesus went out of His way to help non-Jews. One day He led His disciples through Samaria, not the Jews’ preferred route. Jesus set aside time to visit with a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s ancient well, which was still in operation.

In no time at all, Jesus spoke to her about the core issues of her life. As her eyes grew big with amazement at His revelations about her, the lady remembered stories of how God was coming to earth. Upon mentioning this to Jesus, He calmly identified Himself as that very person!  Jesus wanted this lady of mixed-race heritage to know God regarded her as special.

This is the kind of relationship God specializes in, one-on-one, God and human.

Jesus came to have a personal relationship with us

This is one reason, God, as Jesus, came to earth. He wanted to make clear to everyone He is real and accessible. God loves people and wants us to know Him on a personal basis. This is good news worth sharing!

This sets Christmas apart as special to me. God came to live on earth, making Himself vulnerable as a human. God, who had not suffered physically when He was in heaven, came to earth as a human to be one of us, in order to help us.

When we give gifts to one another this Christmas, may we remember God gave us a gift unlike any other? As we focus on Jesus shattering the barrier between heaven and earth, may we tell others about this news always worth celebrating?

Shirley Logsdon

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About Shirley Logsdon

I am the only child of Christian parents who wanted me to know God personally as they did. One night during church we watched a movie depicting a family in their home accepting Jesus as their personal Savior. I was nine and realized then my desire to make Jesus my personal Savior. With the full support of my parents, I met with the pastor and prayed to receive Christ. A few years later, several of us around the same age began classes for our confirmation to become church members. The privilege of taking communion was a special time for me. . During my teenage years I was outwardly complacent, but was inwardly rebellious. I developed the nasty habit of disrupting harmony in the household by nitpicking at anything and everything. A preacher came to hold revival services at my dad’s church and nailed me silently with looks. This helped me tremendously. I turned a corner and began to respect and obey my parents in attitude and actions. I survived these years through prayer (mine, my parents and friends). The love and tenacity of my parents and God’s grace got me through these years of upheaval. I readily identify with David the Psalmist when he said in Psalm 25:7, “Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to Thy mercy remember Thou me for Thy goodness’ sake, O LORD.” Because my parents provided a stable home life for me, when I went to college my Christian values remained intact. After completing my education in 1979, I started working. For a while, I worked at temp agencies, then I did odd jobs. I settled down in a secretarial position in 1986 working for a firm specializing in retirement plan administration. In 2007, I started working for a law firm, eventually becoming a knowledge management assistant in their law library, helping to alert attorneys to new business opportunities. I am a productive citizen of my country in large part because my parents prayed for me and made clear by word and example what they expected of me. I am extremely grateful to God for them. John 15:5 is my life verse: “I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” I am confronted with this realization every day I live, and it helps keep me on the straight and narrow path. I met my future husband at church. After a few years of our two families getting acquainted, he and I started courting. We married at the church where we met, in the presence of many relatives and friends. We have been married for 29 years. My hobbies are reading, cooking, and canning or freezing what my beloved husband grows in the garden. Also, I thoroughly enjoy writing. While my writing has included poems, most of my writing has been letters to family and friends. I like to share my faith when I write and am fond of adding a Bible verse or two to help focus on the source of our life. Since I am now retired after working 38 years, I can concentrate on keeping up with birthdays. Something else I enjoy is studying the Bible, often with others. Blogging is a new form of writing for me. I am getting my feet wet and I’m beginning to enjoy the experience.

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