FROM THE MANGER TO THE MISSION”
Luke 2:10-12
10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”
Christmas is a season of joy, family, and love. Every year we look forward to gathering with loved ones, exchanging gifts, and sharing meals together. These moments are precious, and the gifts we give carry meaning when they flow from hearts of love. Yet beyond the warmth of family and the joy of giving lies a deeper truth: the greatest gift ever given was God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
John 3:16-17
16 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. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
Jesus Christ, was born to give us a second birth, not to condemn the world, but the world through Him should be saved. The gifts we give at Christmas are meaningful when they flow from love, such is God’s ultimate gift of His Son Jesus Christ, a gift from the Fatherly heart of God. It pleased God.
Isaiah 9:6
6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given. And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6 shows us that a Child was born, which speaks of His humanity and then talks about a Son being given, God’s greatest gift to man.
Yet beyond our gifts and gatherings, lies a deeper truth, Jesus did not come simply to remain in the manger. His birth was the beginning of a mission that would change the entire world forever.
Yet today, the commercialisation of Christmas threatens to overshadow this truth. The true essence of the mission of Jesus.
That Christmas has lost its true essence, has become more worrying for me. The fact that we still celebrate Jesus as a baby is also worrying for me.
The Church and the world at large are at risk of losing sight of Christ when the season becomes about food, gifts, parties and wishfulness rather than mission.
Christmas should remind us of God’s gift of love, as seen in the joy of family get together and giving of gifts, which I thoroughly enjoy.
We don’t celebrate ourselves as babies, we celebrate maturity and purpose. Why then do we keep Jesus in infancy? This scripture tells us that Jesus increased both in wisdom and stature, He matured, He became a Man, the Son of Man.
Luke 2:51-52
51 Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in Favor with God and men.
The more we celebrate Him as a baby, the blurrier the vision becomes. Jesus as a baby evokes tenderness but if we stop there, we risk reducing Him to the entertainment of Christmas rather than the Lord that He is. We must not only cling to the sentiment of Christmas without embracing the mission of Christ.
The manger was His entrance, not His destination, Jesus came to bear the government on His shoulders, to be our Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. His mission was to restore and redeem.
John 10:10
10…………………. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
He came so that we might have an abundant life, that we might live life to the fullest.
He came to restore our broken relationship with the Father, He came so that the broken hearted may be mended and healed, He came so that captives may be set free, He came so that those who are bound in prison of affliction maybe set free, He came to open prison doors to those who are bound; He came to comfort all who mourn, He came to give beauty for ashes and the oil of joy for mourning, the list is endless.
This Christmas, celebrate not only His birth but His mission, His reign, and His return. Let our celebrations point to Christ’s mission, not just His birth. Christmas is not just about Jesus in the manager. We have so much more to celebrate this Christmas, the cross, the resurrection, His return, eternal life and His throne.
Luke 1:35
35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
Matthew 1:22-23
22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
The manger was His entrance into the world; His mission was to save humanity.
Christmas is not about keeping Jesus in the manger it is about His mission. The manger was the beginning, but the mission is eternal.
"Have a blessed Christmas, celebrating not only His birth but His purpose, His reign, His return and eternity."
