Christmas Message

Greetings to you in the matchless name of our Lord and saviour Immanuel, God who is with us! We are glad that we could greet you in this season of peace and joy which is all because of the advent of our Saviour to this world. We would like to enumerate the following blessings which accrue to us because of the birth of our Lord Jesus.

Matthew says in 4:16, “The people which sat in darkness saw great light.” Indeed Jesus the light of the world dispels darkness wherever it is found. People are bound by darkness of many kind, namely 1. Darkness of sin, 2. Darkness of fear, 3. Darkness of disease, 4. Darkness of death. We would like to elaborate the deliverance wrought by Jesus from the above mentioned kinds of darkness.

1. DARKNESS OF SIN:

John the Baptist refers to Jesus as the Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). John mentions Jesus as a Lamb because in the Old Testament animals like lambs and goats were offered as an atonement for sins committed by Mankind. Since the blood of animals could never take away the sins of Mankind God had to send His only begotten son Jesus to die as a sacrificial Lamb of the world to take away the sin. In Romans 1:21 apostle Paul says, “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” When people refuse to acknowledge God and worship Him, even though they claim to be wise they are fools indeed because their minds are darkened. The result is depravity found in their lives in worshiping creatures instead of the creator and offering their bodies to be used unnaturally. Only when they come to Jesus the light of the world, will their darkness be dispelled.

2. DARKNESS OF FEAR:

When the angels announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds, the very first words uttered by them is “Fear not!” (Luke 2:10). It is said that in the whole Bible the phrase “Fear not” is mentioned 365 times, one for each day of the year. People are always afraid of the future as to what will happen to them or to their children. Uncertainty about future keeps people always under tender hooks fearing the worst. Jesus came to this world to give us the assurance that He is always with us to take care of all our fears about the future. When the disciples were disillusioned about the imminent departure of Jesus from the world, Jesus assured them that He will come back and take them to the place where He is going. And that they would not remain orphaned but will send a comforter who would be with them always. So the Holy Spirit who is the comforter dwells in us to take away the darkness of fear from us. “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2Tim. 1:7).

3. DARKNESS OF DISEASE:

Sin has brought various kinds of diseases into this world. There is an old saying that “health is wealth.” There is a connection between physical health and spiritual well-being. “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones” (Pro 17:22). People suffering from various diseases, lose their joy and happiness in their lives, which in turn affects their spiritual life. In Acts 10:38 we read, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.” We find that the very purpose of Jesus coming to this world is not only to take away the sins of the world, but also to deliver people from its consequences like sickness, loneliness, disunity, selfishness etc., So if you are suffering from any physical ailment take heart that Jesus has already borne your sickness on the cross and you are healed by His stripes (Isa. 53:5).

4. DARKNESS OF DEATH:

The greatest fear of man is death. Years before there was an article in ‘The Hindu’ about the conversation that took place between a cosmonaut, who was in the abandoned spacecraft and the control unit on the earth. The cosmonaut was given connection to the then president of USSR namely Brezhnev, who conferred the highest award of the nation telling him that he was the bravest Russian. He was then made to speak to his family. When the final moment of death came the cosmonaut started crying asking to deliver him somehow from death. He cried, “I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die.” Because the cosmonaut was an atheist and did not know where he was going after death, he was afraid to face death. But Jesus offered His life voluntarily and did not shy away from facing death. Countless children of God have faced death boldly because they know for sure that Jesus has taken away the sting of death on the cross and has opened a life gate for them. “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 15:55-57). So my dear child of God Jesus has caused death to death itself (1 Cor. 15:55-57) and so you need not be under the darkness of death anymore but can enjoy the light of eternal life offered by Him.

May the light of our Lord Jesus Christ dispel every kind of darkness from your life in this season of Christmas! We wish you and your family a very bright Christmas!