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Introduction

Celebrate the joys of Christmas

I believe it is safe to say, that the Christmas season, like no other, is celebrated with a great sense of joy. For the majority of people (whether they be secular or spiritual), the Christmas season is unarguably the most wonderful time of the year. So, from the humble dwellings of the poor, to the more opulent homes of the rich, one can hear and see the sounds and the sights that express the joys that Christmas brings. Just about everywhere, and in a thousand forms, the celebratory spirit of Christmas beckons us. In places of entertainment, in shopping malls, and in places of worship, the joyful strains of Christmas music can be heard.

The many joys of Christmas that we share, are rooted, and were actually birthed out of the first Christmas message proclaimed by the angel: “behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord,” Luke 2:10, 11. That is why we sing the good ole Christmas carols this time of year. The message of these carols are about one thing: God’s sweetheart deal in the indescribable gift of His only begotten Son; and that is the message I endeavor to convey in this book.

This book, was not written in an attempt to throw cold water on the warmth and joys of the Christmas season; on the contrary, it was written in the hope that all who read it, will find in its pages the “good tidings of great joy,” as announced by the angel. That is why I gave the title: A Sweetheart Deal: God’s Incredible offer in His Unspeakable Gift. That gift is the gift of His Son Jesus Christ. As God’s gift to us He came embodied in human flesh, born in a manger, and wrapped in swaddling bans.

From an outward appearance, there was nothing ostentatious in His coming as a babe in a manger. Isaiah states that He came “as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we should see him, there is no [outward] beauty that we should desire Him,” Isaiah 53:2. His attractions were and are inward; His beauty was and is in His character, which is to be discerned through spiritual eyes.

Outwardly, Jesus laid aside His divine glory, His majestic splendor, and came to us in the humble gab of humanity. Jesus Himself said, “The kingdom of God cometh not with observation [outward show] … for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you,” Luke 17:20, 21. The Jews of Christ day was expecting a Messiah decked in stars and stripes, one who would exude military force and political prowess, overthrow the Roman yoke, and establish with unmistakable splendor the earthly throne of David. When Jesus came as He did, a humble Galilean, who looked, and walked, and talked, in terms like the people of that day, the words of Isaiah was fulfilled: that the Jews “hid as it were [their] faces from him; he was despised, and [they] esteemed him not,” Isaiah 53:3. John nevertheless testified that “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth,” John 1:14.

Among the relative few who accepted and followed the humble Galilean, John’s testimony is that “we beheld his glory.” John’s reference to His glory is no doubt inclusive of those rear moments and “experiences such as the Transfiguration, when divinity momentarily flashed through humanity. Peter similarly speaks of being an ‘eyewitness’ to the ‘majesty’ and ‘excellent glory’ of Christ at the Transfiguration (2 Peter 1:16-18) … this divine ‘glory’ rested upon a historical person, Jesus of Nazareth.” What John is also referring to when he said “we beheld his glory,” is no doubt “the perfection of character exemplified by the Saviour.”1

John said He was full of grace and truth. John is speaking here of faithfulness, trustworthiness, mercy, and truth. “These words appear together in the [Old Testament] in a clearly Messianic setting, in Ps. 85:10, 11.”2 We also find echoes of this in Exodus 34, when Moses asked God to show him His glory: “And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation,” vs. 7, 8. “It was precisely these attributes of God that Christ came particularly to reveal. While on earth He was ‘full’ of them, and could thus give a full and complete revelation of the Father.”3

Yes, Christ is God’s most beautiful, most indescribable gift to all who will receive Him. Those who truly desire to know Him will along with Isaiah “see the king in his beauty,” and will proclaim like Philip, to their friends and relatives, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the Law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph,” and all, together with Peter, will “rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory,” see Isaiah 33: 17; John 1:45; 1Peter 1:8.

The sad note in all of this is that some people choose not to receive Him. That is their privilege. It is also my privilege, and it is also your privilege. God has given us all the free gift of choice. We may choose to receive Him with joy, or reject Him with scorn. The angel’s announcement brought “tidings of great joy” that “a Savior” was “born to [all humanity] … “who is Christ the Lord,” Luke 2:10, 11. To choose rejection, is to refuse the magnanimous gift of eternal life offered to us in the gift of God’s Son Jesus Christ. This was the case with Israel at the dawn of the very first Christmas. The Bible clearly states that Jesus “came to His own, and His own did not receive Him,” John 1:11. Why did they fail to receive Him? And why is this the case for the majority of people today? Ellen G. white, in her classic work on the life of Christ, The Desire of Ages, gave us one of the secrets for this non-acceptance by some, she states:

“… Jerusalem was not preparing to welcome her Redeemer. With amazement the heavenly messengers beheld the indifference of that people whom God had called to communicate to the world the light of sacred truth… In the temple the morning and the evening sacrifice daily pointed to the Lamb of God; yet even here was no preparation to receive Him. The priests and teachers of the nation knew not that the greatest event of the ages was about to take place. They rehearsed their meaningless prayers, and performed their rites of worship to be seen by men, but in their strife for riches and worldly honor they were not prepared for the revelation of the Messiah. The same indifference pervaded the land of Israel. Hearts selfish and world-engrossed were untouched by the joy that thrilled all heaven. Only a few were longing to behold the Unseen. To these [humble shepherds] heaven’s embassy [the angels] was sent [Italics mine].”4

Do we not witness the same kinds of attitudes and behaviors in our secular post-modern world today? The hearts of most men and women are engrossed with the tinsel and glitter of this present world. For the secularist, this natural world is all that there is; everything in our existence (they say) is bracketed in time. Life for the secularist is temporal and moving towards a terminus of ultimate finality. There is nothing beyond this present life, no rewards, no punishments. The motto therefore, is: “eat, drink, and be merry.” Sad to say, this worldly way of thinking is not limited to the secular population, for even among some professed Christians, and some so-called religious persons, the temporary pleasures of this life have a stronger attraction than that of Christ.

We have come to the place in our culture where, because of political correctness, the name of Christ in Christmas is considered an offense and an insensitivity towards others not of the Christian faith. Therefore, the “Merry Christmas” greeting is substituted for “Happy Holidays” in many respects, even in certain circles of the professed Christian community. In their mistaken attempt to be “politically correct,” in order “not to offend” others, some Christians have succumbed to the mounting pressure to delete the name of Christ not only out of Christmas but from its actual memory. This is shocking! As a result, the Christmas season is now simply the “holiday season”, riddle with consumerism, and sensual pleasure—the fleeting joys of sin for a season—with eating and drinking and merry making.

The kind of “joy” that comes from a world where Christ is forgotten, is not the joy that was announced by the angel in Luke chapter 2. The joy announced by the angel is the “glad tidings” of a Savior born to humanity. The prophet Isaiah foretold the birth of Christ this way: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace,” Isaiah 9:6. The Savior brings to humanity the gift of sins forgiven. He brings to fallen humanity the peace of heaven by reconciling us back to God through His sacrificial death on the cross. Matthew recorded the reason Mary was directed to name the Christ child “JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins,” Matthew 1:21. This is certainly cause for great joy.

The name JESUS means Savior. He came to save us from our sins, not in our sins. It also means that God sent His Son to not only save us from our sins, but to save us from the very presence of sin. Think of what that means to you and me this Christmas. It means that we have hope for the future. Despite the despair, the disappointments, and the brokenness we see in our world today, and even at Christmas, Jesus coming as our Savior means that there will be a far better world, free from sin, sickness, and death. John the Revelator saw that better world. John said:

“I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall dwell with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful,” Revelation 21:1-5.

Jesus coming into this world as our Savior means (as we just read in the book of Revelation) that there is a solution to the problem of sin and pain, to sickness and death. It means that through the redemptive work of our Savior, God will rescue our planet that is under siege by the fallen angel Lucifer. This once exalted angel became the sworn enemy of both God and man, but Jesus came into this world in order to destroy the works of this enemy. It means that God will make good on the promise of peace and goodwill for all repentant sinners. It means we can celebrate the joys of Christmas not only for a season, not only for a day or two, but throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity in fellowship with God, angels, and each other. Oh, what a joy that is! It means that the joys of Christmas will remain in our hearts because we are forgiven, restored, and at peace with God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Certainly, as we embrace the gift of God’s Son, we will truly experience the joys of the Christmas season.

Unlike the unbelieving world, seriously committed Christians celebrate Christmas with lasting joy. That is because they embrace God’s sweetheart deal in the unspeakable gift of His Son. The unbelieving world, on the other hand, celebrate the holiday season (starting with Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year) with forgetfulness of God and the Savior Jesus Christ. The unbelieving world welcome the “holiday season” as a time for indulging the appetite and passions. They celebrate the “holidays” with practices and traditions that are for the most part contrary to the Word of God. Such fictitious characters as Santa Claus, Elves, Flying Reindeer, and Frosty the Snow Man, have nothing to do with the Christmas story and the birth of our Savior. These fairytale caricatures born of human traditions and pagan practices are not found in Scripture. They have nothing to do with God sending His only begotten Son into the world to be our Savior. They at best represent a world of fantasy, and are Satan’s counterfeits that infatuate the minds of men and women, boys and girls, in order to undermine and steal away, ever so subtly, the true meaning of Christmas.

Satan is the real Grinch that has stolen Christmas from many. The way the world celebrates the “holidays” are according to Satan’s grand scheme to undermine the plan of salvation. By focusing exclusively on the world of make-believe at the expense of the real reason for the Christmas season—which is Jesus Christ—the gospel is effectively “hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of Christ, should shine unto them,” II Corinthians 4:3, 4.

Worldly pleasures, whether at Christmas or not, will only last for a season. The writer of Hebrews states that “the pleasures of sin” are only “for a season,” they are short lived and ultimately empty, see Hebrews 11:24-26. The search for the next thrill remains unending in the pursuit of carnal pleasures, because the earthly wells of pleasure from which many freely drink, cannot satisfy their thirst. Speaking metaphorically, Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, “Whosoever drinks of this water [the earthly springs] will thirst again, but whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him [the heavenly springs] will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life,” John 4:13, 14. Those who drink of Christ’s well will have rivers of Joy bubbling up in their innermost being. They will never thirst again, because the joys of accepting God’s indescribable gift of His only begotten Son, satisfies.

The true joys of the Christmas season, have never been, and will never be found in worldly amusements. Yes, we all enjoy the spirit that comes with the Christmas season: giving and receiving gifts, Christmas shopping, celebratory events, special treats and foods prepared exquisitely for the season, Christmas decorations of our homes and other places of business or pleasure; yes, we also breakout wonderful displays of Christmas lights, and we adorn our Christmas apparel, all a part of the joys of celebrating Christmas. I love it. I rejoice when the Christmas season come, and I am sad to see it go. But, if these precious gifts of joy and innocent pleasures are not celebrated in the light of our acceptance, and acknowledgment of the indescribable gift of Jesus, then as enjoyable, and as innocent as these pleasures may be, they become temporary and short lived; they last only for a season.

On the other hand, when we celebrate the joys of the Christmas season with a full embrace and acceptance of God’s sweetheart deal in the unspeakable gift of His only begotten Son, then we are truly enjoying everything that Christmas means. That kind of joy last not only for a season, but for every day of our lives until Jesus comes again, without sin unto salvation. Who is the reason for the season? Jesus is! He is the source of the joy of the season! “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord,” Luke 2:10, 11. This is the theme of this book, and it is my prayer, that as you read about the story of Christ and His birth, you will find true Christmas joy in accepting God’s indescribable gift to you. May your Christmas season be filled with exceeding great joy.