Good Morning:
There’s no doubt about it, Christmas is about miracles. Pick any Christmas movie you like and there’s always some sort of miracle going on. From the make-believe miracles of a glowing nose and flying animals in Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer to the miracles of logistics and efforts of love for an old army general in White Christmas, from the miracle of Scrooge’s changed heart in A Christmas Carol to the miracles of generosity and dedication in It’s a Wonderful Life, Christmas isn’t Christmas without a miracle.
The same is true of the first Christmas ever as well. It wouldn’t have been Christmas without a true miracle. The miracle was not a change of heart, glowing nose, or realization that your life is worth something. The miracle on the first Christmas was a miracle which only God could accomplish. God became man by being born of a virgin. Isaiah first prophesied of this to King Ahaz “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14). This prophecy contains a double miracle. A miracle conception and birth, such as has never happened and will never happen again, as well as the miracle of the person, Jesus, both true God and true man. This was truly a Christmas miracle.
The man-made miracles in movies can warm our hearts and fill us with generous and loving thoughts. There’s nothing wrong with that, and in fact, there are many good things about it. But the real miracles of Christmas, the ones which do not come from man, but come from God and were announced by angels give us so much more than a warm heart. The miracle of Jesus’ birth brings peace between God and mankind. The Savior was miraculously born on Christmas in order to reconcile sinful man with a perfect God. He did just that. By His perfect life and His innocent death our guilt has been removed forever. God, our Father, dwells with us, His dear children, this Christmas Day and always because His son accomplished the miraculous, our salvation. Praise be to Jesus! Bless His holy name! And joy to the world!
Merry Christmas,
Pastor Naumann
