In the incarnation, the miracle of salvation becomes a reality.

“When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman…” (Galatians 4:4).

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18).

“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” (John 1:14).

What does Christmas really mean? It means many different things to people. As a child, it meant a break from school. When my kids were small, I enjoyed it vicariously. Nowadays, most of us just want our favorite foods, decorations, and some good sales. But “maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more” (the Grinch). Yes, it means much more than we’ve got from the stores.

Without the worship of Christ, the holiness of Advent digresses to just another event. The real meaning is found in God’s Word.

ALIENATION is the first description of why He came.

Alienation is not the name of the latest science fiction movie. It is the experience of being isolated from your group and wanting to be involved.

There was no room in the inn for this young family. John said it best. He wrote, “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto his own, and His own received Him not” (John 1:11). Simply put, He was alienated from the those He came to redeem. The truth is that all humanity “alienated” themselves “from the life of God” (Ephesians 4:18). All have sinned and shunned Him (Romans 3:23, 6:23).

But today, we can make room for Him in every room of our lives and experience the blessings of personal redemption. John explained, “as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13).

Now we move to our blessed ASSOCIATION.

God with us means He moved into our world to associate with us. Our Savior has thoroughly identified with the poverty and problems of our world. “Though he was rich, yet for our sake He became poor, so that by His poverty we might become rich” (2nd Corinthians 8:9). And what a blessed thought that “we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). King David said, “I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread” (Psalm 37:25). I can testify that He has never forsaken me. And He’s been the only friend who can truly identify with my every moment.

Finally, we come to the grace of ACCESSIBILITY.

In most royal courts throughout history, subjects were not permitted to be in the presence of their king. But King Jesus invites us in. This was His way throughout His earthly life among us. He was accessible to the blue-collar shepherds, Simeon the devout, Anna the prophetess, and the wise men from the East. Our Savior is available to whosoever will come.

Even now, He leaves His throne room door wide open. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:1-2). “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). He moved among us so that we could freely access His presence, in any time of need. Praise God!

Whosoever will, can find all they will ever need in His presence. During Christmas, we celebrate many blessings. But chief among them is the blessing of being able to experience His coming into your life personally.

Let’s make this personal.

The 24th letter of our 26-letter English alphabet is the letter X. But those diagonally crossed lines mean something else to the Greeks, whose language the NT was written. Those crossed lines are the letter “Chi” (said as Kai). This X is the 22nd letter of their 24-letter alphabet. And this X is the first letter in the name “Christos,” which in Greek means Messiah. Early Church Christians used “X” as an abbreviation when writing about Christ’s Mass. And when we English only knowing people read it, we see Xmas.

But in our lifetime, when those who aren’t devoutly Christian began writing Merry Xmas, we rightfully questioned their motives. However, I suspect that the real war on Christmas is when professing Christians try to make this holy day about everything else but the birth of Christ.

My trust issues probably began as a child. It happened in the 6th grade for me. I was a pretty smart little mathematician, but then they started combining the alphabet with numbers and called it Algebra. They told me that X represents an unknown! And they said I had to figure it out!

But in Christianity, X represents Someone who can be known. This is the meaning of Christmas! You don’t have to understand Algebra to personally know Him. Instead, it’s as easy as ABC.

Admit that you are a sinner and know you cannot save yourself. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” and “the wages of sin is death.” But “the of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ” (Romans 3:23, 6:23).

Believe that Jesus died to pay for your sins on the Cross and rose from the grave so you can follow Him. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Confess that Jesus is Lord and call upon Him for His salvation. He says to those who come to Him, “I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).

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