How Should We Celebrate the Birth of Christ?

How do you celebrate Christmas? If we are honest, we must admit that many persons, even Christians, celebrate it most by buying presents, decorating their houses, visiting relatives and friends, or watching football games on television. Others celebrate it by getting drunk, some beginning at the office party on the last working day before Christmas and not sobering up until sometime after the twenty-fifth or even after New Year's. This, of course, is monstrous. These celebrations are inadequate to say the least.

But how should a Christian celebrate Christmas? Before we turn to the book of Luke, I want to say first that by far the best and greatest way to celebrate Christmas is by becoming a Christian if you have never done so. In other words, the best way to celebrate Christmas is by becoming a follower of Him whose birth we commemorate. This is why Jesus came. The Bible tells us that the birth of Jesus was unlike all other births in that Jesus existed before birth as the second person of the Godhead and He became man, not to provide us with a sweet story to tell children each winter or even as a theme for our greatest musical compositions, but in order to grow to maturity and then to die for our sin as a means of our salvation. Jesus was born to be our Savior as the carol says:

    Good Christian men, rejoice,
    With heart, and soul, and voice;
    Now ye need not fear the grave:
    Jesus Christ was born to save!
    Calls you one and calls you all
    To gain His everlasting hall.

    Christ was born to save!

Anyone can understand Christmas in just three sentences:

• I am a sinner.
• As a sinner I need a Savior.
• Jesus Christ is that Savior.

Three sentences! So, the best way to celebrate Christmas is to believe on Jesus as your Savior. If you have never done that, then this is a great season in which to believe on Him. Come to Him! Come to Him now!

But now, assuming that you have believed on Him and that you are a Christian, what can you add to this in order to properly celebrate Christmas? At this point our Bible text comes in, for it is a report of how those who witnessed the first Christmas observed it. The passage begins by speaking of the shepherds.

    "When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told" (Luke 2:17-20 emphasis added



 Luke 2:1-20 (NASB)
¹  Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.
²  This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
³  And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.
⁴  Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,
⁵  in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.
⁶  While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.
⁷  And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
⁸  In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.
⁹  And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.
¹⁰  But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;
¹¹  for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
¹²  "This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
¹³  And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
¹⁴  "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."
¹⁵  When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us."
¹⁶  So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.
¹⁷  When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.
¹⁸  And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.
¹⁹  But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.
²⁰  The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

This passage suggests four ways of celebrating Christmas:

• Tell others about it.
• Be amazed at the event itself.
• Ponder on its meaning.
• Glorify and praise God for what was done that first Christmas.