If Jesus Really Came to Earth as a Tiny Baby, Then…

Christmas is “just around the corner”. For many, the holiday is purely secular, made up of family, gift-giving, and Santa Claus. But many people across the world still honor the birth of Christ, amidst their secular traditions.

A few weeks ago, my daughter mentioned that if you believe that Jesus came as a baby to this earth, then you must believe the rest of the Bible. You can’t have it both ways.

I would expand on this thought just a bit. If we believe that Jesus was miraculously conceived, that He was born in a stable in Bethlehem, that the angels sang to Shepherds in the fields at His birth, and that a special star guided wise men to His home, then we must also believe that–

-all people are born sinners; that there is nothing good in us and we are helpless and hopeless without God (Romans 3:10-11).
-Jesus came to die on the cross for our sins and to reconcile us with God (John 3:16; Romans 6:23, Titus 2:14; I John 1:7).
-we have no part in our salvation; there are no good works that contribute anything to our salvation and, in fact, salvation is a free gift from our loving Heavenly Father (Ephesians 2:8-9).
-Jesus rose victoriously and is alive and sitting at the right hand of the Father (I Corinthians 15:3-4; Colossians 3:1).
-That Jesus will reign forever and ever (Revelation 11:15).

The Bible also teaches that a person who genuinely believes what the Bible tells us about Who Jesus is, all of it–from His lowly birth to His everlasting reign, is transformed from the inside out. They turn from self, sin, and the world (albeit not without a raging battle) as they seek to be more like Christ (Luke 9:23, Galatians 5:24-25; Colossians 3:9-10; 2 Peter 1:4).

It also tells us that God cares about the smallest details in the lives of His own dear children (Matthew 6:25-30; Romans 8:28-29).

You see, if we are going to be consistent, we can’t just believe in the story of Baby Jesus. If the story of Baby Jesus is true, then the whole Bible is true. And, yet, so many people love to rip this favorite story from the pages of the greatest Book ever written and grandly celebrate it, while just giving a passing nod–even completely ignoring– the rest.

For the believer, Christmas is about Jesus. Yes, I know all of the pagan history of many of the traditions. But for thousands of years, Christians have transformed a time that has been historically pagan and used it, instead, to celebrate the birth of the Savior. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

But in doing this, we also need to remember that this beautiful story is not an isolated event but is just one part of God’s whole amazing plan, put in place so that we could be reconciled with God and spend eternity in heaven. Yes, Jesus came to earth as a baby but oh, there is so much more than that one Holy Night! May we search the scriptures so that we have context for what really happened that night, rather than just celebrate this baby’s birth because, well, it’s just what we have always done.

I hope that you have a wonderful holiday season, as you contemplate the birth of Jesus and what it means for you personally and for the whole world. May we all remember to thank God this year for the greatest Gift ever given!