We celebrate Christmas because Jesus our Savior was born. We celebrate his birth because we know what his birth and death means for us. It means that we can have eternal life in heaven if we believe in him. The Bible gives us the reasons for our celebration, but it also tells us how to celebrate. We are to worship God and give to others.
After Jesus was born several different people wanted to see him. First an angel appeared to some nearby shepherds. The angel told them that the long awaited Savior had been born. They went to see Jesus and when they found him they told of everything the angel had told them. After they left they started worshipping God. We are to worship God in the same way, giving thanks to him for giving us a Savior.
Another group of people that went to see Jesus were the wise men. These wise men were from a far away land. They had seen a star arise and they wanted to worship this newborn king. They used this star as a guide to find Jesus. When they found him they also bowed in worship. These wise men also gave Jesus gifts. They gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (very expensive items for that time and region).
Christmas today is filled with people worshipping God and giving gifts because that is what the Bible tells us happened as a result of Jesus’s birth. We should all worship God and care for those around us because of what Jesus means to us.
Besides the story of his miraculous birth, we know strikingly little about Jesus’s childhood. This most likely means that he had a fairly normal one. He most likely played with his friends, went to school, and did chores around the house just like we do now. However, we do have one story from his childhood and that is also found in Luke 2.
When Jesus was 12 years old, his family traveled to Jerusalem for the annual Passover festival. After the festival was over and Mary and Joseph were traveling home they realized that Jesus had been left behind. They went back to Jerusalem and found him sitting with the teachers in the Temple. Jesus was astounding them with his understanding of the Bible and how wise he was at such a young age. It proves to us that we are never too young to learn and to grow.
The end of Luke says that Jesus continued to grow in many ways. Just like we grow in size, we also are to grow spiritually. The more we study and the more we spend time with God the more we will grow. That is what Jesus did. Jesus was just like us, but he grew in God and became the person we all know and love. It was through this growth that he gave his life for us. We are called to this same growth. This is what we have the opportunity to do day in and day out. The more we learn, the more we grow. And learning about God is the best thing to learn about.
Key Takeaways:
Worship
Give
Grow
Parents, 3treesKIDS will be covering “Jesus is Born”, both in-person and online this week.
Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.
To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit.