Right Response To Christmas Message

Whenever I meditate on the love of God, I recall an incident that a medical doctor shared in a mission conference. The doctor tried to explain to the delegates the love of God and the constraining love that we should have for the perishing souls. To explain the love of God and our response to that love, he shared the following incident that happened in a mission hospital in India. It happened at the time when many Western medical missionaries were serving in India.

It was a rural hospital. The people around that hospital went in large numbers for treatment to that hospital because of the sacrificial and loving service of the doctor. He cared not only for the physical needs of the people but also for their spiritual needs. He was a prayerful man with a passion for souls. People around that area used to call him respectably as the Vellai Thurai.

One day an old lady from a nearby village came for treatment and was admitted in the hospital. The doctor came around the inpatient ward on that day to treat the inpatients in the hospital. When he was testing the old lady, she started vomiting. He received the vomit in both of his hands, went to the sink and poured the vomit. He washed his hand with soap and started treating others as usual.

The doctor could do this because he loved the people. He humbled himself to the extent of doing the work of a scavenger. In the same manner, Jesus Christ was God and He was with God. He loved all of us so much that He left His place of glory and honour and humbled Himself to become man and came to the world to die in our place on the cross for our sin. ‘For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.’ (2 Cor. 5:21).

What do we read on this sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the love of God in the Bible? Paul wrote in Philippians 2:6-8 that Christ Jesus was originally in the form of God. He was equal with God. But He did not consider this as a privilege or position to be proud of. When He recognized the needs of the people of the world, He forsook His position and privilege, and came to this world as a man in the form of a servant. He humbled Himself to the extent of dying for us in our place on the cross to save us, and this was mainly because of His love for us.

Let us see the various ways by which we can respond to this divine love as it happened in the lives of some people at the time of His birth.

1. Humble surrender:When the angel Gabriel told Mary that she will conceive and bring forth a Son, she hesitated for a moment because she was a virgin. Then the angel told her that she will conceive because of the Holy Spirit and nothing is impossible with God. When Mary heard that it will be possible with God, she said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” Luke 1:38. Mary’s response to the offer of the angel was humble surrender to the Lord’s will. Have you humbly surrendered your life completely to God for His will to be done in you?
2. Trust and believe:In those days Mary went to visit Elizabeth and greeted her. When Elizabeth heard the greetings of Mary, she responded by saying, “Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.” Luke 1:45. Mary trusted the Lord and took the risk to give birth to Jesus. This resulted in the angel of the Lord convincing Joseph in a dream.
   In a Christmas message Martin Luther preached, ‘When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, three miracles occurred: God became man, a virgin conceived, Mary believed.” Mary believed in impossibility and that made her the mother of the Lord. Do you trust in the Lord and believe that nothing is impossible for Him?

3. Sacrificial obedience:Joseph was a just man. When he found that Mary was with a child, he wanted to put her away secretly. But when the angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him that Mary was conceived by the Holy Spirit, he not only took her as his wife but also “did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son.” (Matt.1:25). This is sacrificial obedience for Joseph, the young man at the time when he looked forward to the married life. Will you take a decision to obey sacrificially if there are areas in which there is lack of sacrifice and obedience in your life?
4.  Give glory to God:When Christ was born in Bethlehem, the shepherds were keeping watch over their flock in the field by night. The angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds and announced the birth of Jesus. Immediately after the announcement of the birth of Jesus, the angelic host could not keep quiet. They responded by praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!” (Luke 2:14). Do you give glory to God and pray for peace and good will toward men?
5. Worship and offer gifts to God liberally:The wise men, from the East went to Bethlehem ‘to worship and offer gifts.’ ‘And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (Matt. 2:11). During Christmas usually children receive gifts from their loved ones and the employees from their employers. But, here the Bible says that the wise men worshipped God and gave gifts to Him. Will you worship and offer gifts to God this Christmas?
6. Proclaim widely the love of God:After the shepherds went and saw the baby Jesus lying in the manger, “they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.” (Luke 2:17). What was the saying that they heard from the angel of the Lord? It was good tidings of the birth of the Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. The shepherds went and proclaimed this message widely. Their message was that baby Jesus is the Saviour and Christ.

In this Christmas season, let us make a personal decision to proclaim the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ whenever a chance is given to us. We get many opportunities to speak or share the love of God with others during Christmas season. Will you decide to proclaim the good news that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world?

One out of six persons in this world is Indians. More than 99 per cent of Indians have not tasted the love of God. Is it not necessary for us to speak of Him to all those who are looking for redemption in India like Anna? (Luke 2:38).

(Dr. C. Barnabas, taken from True Discipleship, Nov-Dec 2000)