"And while they were there, the time came for
her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in
swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them
in the inn" Luke 2:6-7 ESV
When we pick up the
Bible, the first thing we notice is that the book is arranged in two
sections--the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Bible is one continuous story, but it
breaks into two pieces, with the coming of Christ. The Old Testament predicts
His coming. The New Testament fulfills
that prediction. The Old Testament
promises--the New Testament delivers.
History breaks at
this same place. BC becomes AD. One minute before we stand in one
world. One minute after, we stand in another. Christ is the continental divide of history.
Christmas reminds us
of that night when history changed. It
was the end of one world. It was the
beginning of another.
The way we look at
Christmas can change our whole lives. If
we get the message of the day, it will transform us. If we miss the message, if we remain stuck in
the old world, it will mean
nothing. What we do with Christmas will
change our whole lives.
The vast majority of
the inhabitants of Bethlehem in Mary and Joseph's time did not understand
this. The night Jesus was born was just
another night to them. There was nothing
to indicate that it was the last night of their world.
On the last night of
the world, there were beggars in the streets, as there were every night.
On the last night of
the world, soldiers kept watch from the guard towers around the city. They watched the same fields the shepherds
did, yet no angels appeared to them.
They never saw the angels.
On the last night of
the world, there were drunks on the street, just like every other night. Tavern keepers
keep late hours, serving those miserable souls who try to drown out their pain
with the bottle. It never works. There
are those who think they can’t go through the day, or sleep through the night
without some kind of chemical assistance.
On the last night of
the world, bartenders and shopkeepers cleaned their shops. Thieves in the hills
met to divide their spoils. Priests in
the temple went about early morning ministrations. All these people were awake when the
shepherds were awake, but they never heard the angels. If they did hear the
angels, they paid no attention. They
were busy. Who has time to go outside
and see what the noise is all about? Business is business. They had no time to
stop what they were doing to see what
was going on.
What we do for a
living is not more important than living. Suppose Jesus were to come
today? Would you leave your occupation
to meet Him? On the last night of the
old world, business was king. On the first day of the new world, Jesus was king. We must sometimes leave the one to see the
other.
There were some--the
shepherds, for example--who left their business and found the Lord. They were
the ones who heard the “glad tidings of great joy”
In the world before
Christ, there were divisions between people of different countries, races, and
social structures. But in the new world, these differences disappeared. God summoned worshippers from all over the world
to join at the manger--wise men came from the east, for example. The divisions between Jew and Gentile were
over. Now, we join in a new world, under
a single Savior. When the old world
dies, the new one begins.
If peace is ever to come to our world, it will not come through
political reform or social reform. It won't come because of the latest
scientific breakthrough, either. . It will come when each of us lets Christ
into our hearts, and we join the new world where He reigns supreme. When Jesus comes to us, He brings a new world
with Him..
On which side of
Christmas do you live? Are you in the
old world, or the new? Have you surrendered your life to Him? Have you been to
the manger? Have you been to the Cross? If you have not, come this day to Him. He has already come for you.
"Jesus, in your coming you have begun a new
world. Let me live in the light of Your presence, and rejoice in my part of
that new world. In Jesus' name,
Amen."
