Be Blessed this Christmas

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Dear Friend,

Two thousand years ago, the Roman world suffered many of the same challenges we encounter today – oppression, racial hatred, lies, bitter divisions, and wrongs. Into that culture stepped the most amazing thing imaginable: the Creator of the universe.

If you’re unfamiliar with Christianity, the story of the baby Jesus may seem sentimental and perhaps no more real than Santa Claus. But the Gospel of John tells the story from the cosmic perspective. He calls Jesus the “Logos”, the living Word:

In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Through him, all things were made; without him, nothing was made that has been made.

In him was life, which was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The true light that gave light to everyone was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (excerpts from John 1:1-14)

John tells of God dwelling among us, inviting us to be his children. God doesn’t instantly fix our problems, and we don’t always know why, but he takes on our sufferings as his own. He brings Light. Life. Truth. Grace. Glory. All the things we truly long for are met in Jesus Christ. This is the radical message of Christianity for an apathetic secular world.

It may seem too good to be true. But it is too good to ignore. If the Christian message is true, if that little baby in Bethlehem is really the good and loving King of the universe, he holds all that we most desire. Christmas becomes much more than a sentimental holiday. It is a deep truth that can and should radically reorder my life and yours. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life - the light shining in the darkness.

Dr Paul

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