What Child Is This?
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Guilty as charged - I love Christmas. I love the songs that celebrate the birth of the Christ Child. I love the decorations, the lights, and the reading of Luke’s account of the nativity. I love Christmas. There’s something about being in a store and hearing “Oh Holy Night” or “Oh Little Town of Bethlehem.” To many, these are just Christmas carols. However, to a child of God, they remind us of the greatest gift ever given to man: God’s only begotten Son. I wonder what would happen if busy shoppers would just stop and listen to the words of the Christian Christmas carols? What if they really pondered the question, What Child is this?
NO NIGHT LIKE IT
There was no night like that extraordinary night. It may have started out as any other night, but before the night ended, the Saviour of the world would be wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. It may have gone unnoticed except for God sending a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14). What child was this that was introduced by angelic beings? He was the only begotten of the Father.
LET US NOW GO
Upon the revelation that this special child born in the city of David was the Saviour, Jesus Christ, the shepherds encouraged one another to leave their sheep. They said to one another, “Let us now go even unto Bethlehem and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us” (Lk. 2:15). In the Greek, there’s an urgency in their voices. They spoke and continued to speak one to another of their strong desire to go to Bethlehem and see the Christ Child. Oh, that the world would realize the eternal gift offered to mankind through the Christ Child and would likewise run to the old rugged Cross!
FROM THE CRIB TO THE CROSS
The significance of the beginning is found in the ending. Without the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the birth of Christ would not matter. The Cross brings significance to the crib. It is the sacrifice of Calvary which elevates the birth of the Christ Child above all other births. In reality, to a believer, the story of the birth of Christ should always be told in reference to the reason why He left heaven and came down in the first place.
BORN OF A VIRGIN
Isaiah prophesied of the means by which this child would enter the world: “Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel” (Is. 7:14). This is crucial. Yet many Christians deny the clearly biblical doctrine of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. Folks, unless Jesus was indeed born of a virgin, He would have been disqualified as the Lamb of God. You see, Adam’s sin is passed down through the natural birth process. Jesus was born without sin and lived a sinless life so that He would become the sin sacrifice for mankind.
I CHOOSE TO CELEBRATE THE BIRTH OF CHRIST
I choose to celebrate the birth of my Lord and Saviour. I refuse to be distracted by worldly celebrations. I will not cease to celebrate the incarnation of Christ because we do not know the exact date of Christ’s birth or that December 25 was once a secular celebration. What Child is this? He is the Son of God and deserves our praise, worship, and thanksgiving.
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