Coxy's Christmas Message 2013

21^st December 2013

Matthew and Luke describe the conception and birth of Jesus in a historical or biographical way. Their biographies of Jesus are highly unusual but Jesus had a very unusual life, and a very unusual conception. Matthew and Luke lay out the plain facts of Jesus's birth but John took a different, more poetic approach. He wrote:

John 1v1-5
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

Matthew tells us that Jesus was Immanuel - God with us. Luke tells us that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. John tells us that Jesus us the Word. What he means is: Jesus is the ultimate expression of who God is.

Also, John says that Jesus was from the beginning - alive for ever, before his birth as well as after His resurrection. And John says that Jesus - the Word - is God. Together with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, Jesus is the Creator. Everything was made through Him.

And John says that in Jesus was Life. Since we all have life, John must have meant something beyond what we know. He meant that in Jesus there was spiritual life - eternal life. And that quality of life that was unique to Jesus was the Light of men. Jesus came to earth and through His teaching, His miracles and His way of life. He gave us understanding of the nature of God, and of our own nature, that we couldn't work out for ourselves. He went way beyond anything science could do.

But most people didn't understand.

Those of us who've come to love and follow Jesus find this hard to fathom. We see what a privilege it must have been to meet Jesus, and we can't imagine failing to be utterly changed by such an encounter with God. But, although Jesus had many followers, most people managed to ignore Him. And some hated Him. John says:

John 1v9-11
The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognise him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.

Through Jesus, God gives light to every person. But He doesn't force us to look. He allows us to turn away. Jesus came to His own, God's Old Testament people, the Israelites. He was born in Judea and lived most of his life in Galilee. Yet most of his countrymen refused to receive Him and believe He was who He said He was. They chose instead to stay in the way of life they knew before He came.

However, John continues:

John 1v12-13
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

God gives so much to those who do receive Jesus. He gives us the right to become children of God. There was a time when I didn't really know if God existed at all. But, somehow, I found that I could believe in Jesus. I'm sure God helped me to believe. And now I know that I'm a child of God. And I'm sure God helps me to know.

John 1v14
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John, who met Jesus and followed Him until He died, knew that Jesus was the Word of God, God in human form, come to earth to show us what God is like and how much He loves us. John saw how glorious Jesus was. He saw that Jesus was full of grace - generosity and kindness - and full of truth - not only did Jesus always tell the truth, He is the truth. He is the perfect man and the perfect image of the perfect God. John knew Jesus and he understood.

But it's a tragedy that most of God's chosen people at that time didn't understand. They missed the marvellous opportunity to follow Jesus and learn from Him. As a result, they didn't understand that Jesus died to pay for the things they'd done wrong so they could become children of God, too.

And it makes we wonder. Today, His own - God's chosen people - are the Christians. Across the world, how many Christians are failing to welcome Jesus Christ? A Christian can know who Jesus is. A Christian can know a lot of doctrine. A Christian can understand the Good News that we can be forgiven and adopted as God's children. And yet a Christian can find himself in a place where he ignores Jesus, refuses to go to church and worship his creator and saviour, refuses to live according the Bible, refuses to spend time in prayer.

Christians can get hurt, or disappointed, or just busy and tired, and can gradually slip further and further away from following Jesus. If Jesus spoke to you today, would you notice? Do you regularly take time to listen for His voice? Do you still believe that He loves you enough to come to you and talk to you?

And, as well as the Israelites - God's Old Testament people, and the Christians - God's New Testament people, isn't it true that really all people are God's people? After all, God created us all in His image. God gives air and water and food to us all.

And, this Christmas time, can I suggest that right now, anybody reading this who has never met Jesus opens his mind to the idea that Jesus might want to meet with him? He meets with me, so why not with you?

Jesus loves you, and wants you to get to know Him and, through Him, to know God the Father.

Please consider the possibility that John was right. That the millions and millions of Christians over the last 2000 years were on to something, that I and any other Christians you know are not insane; we've just met someone you haven't met yet. He offers you the right to become a child of God.