Christmas is only a couple of days away, a special day to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  People celebrate this day in many different ways, but not all realize that the baby who was laid in a manger and who died on a Cross was born to be the Savior of the world.  Families gather for a feast, to exchange gifts, and to enjoy one another’s company, but often the real reason for the Christmas season is totally overlooked or ignored.

        When God dealt with the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, He promised that one day one of their descendants would crush the head of the serpent who deceived them.  He really meant by this that Jesus would come into the world to defeat the Satan’s power over the human soul. The angel Gabriel appeared to the virgin Mary to announce to her that she would give birth supernaturally to the Savior of the world.  He told her she would conceive by the Holy Spirit and bear a son, and He would be the Son of God.

        An angel also appeared to shepherds on the hillsides of Bethlehem to announce to them that the Savior had been born that very day in the city of David.  The angel was them joined by a multitude of angels who said, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to men”.  After all the angels left, the shepherds went to Bethlehem to visit this child, and they found Him wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.  As they returned to their flocks, they told everyone they saw about what the angel had told them about this child.  Everyone who heard what they said greatly wondered about they said.

        The shepherds were not the only ones to visit the newborn child, as later wise men from the east came searching for Him in order to worship Him.  They caused quite a stir when they showed up in Jerusalem, and told people they were seeking the King of the Jews.  This troubled all the people, especially Herod, who was the King of the Jews at the time.  He believed the child they were seeking would grow up to take over his throne, and he was not very happy about it.  He instructed the wise men to report to him when they found the child, saying that he wanted to worship the child like them.  He showed his real intentions, when they did not return, by ordering that all male children His age be put to death.

        What is our response to Jesus coming to Earth over 2000 years ago?

Larry R. Steffee is pastor of the Center Hill Brethren In Christ Church on Miller Road in Smithville.  Everyone is welcome to attend.  For informa-tion, you may email lrsteffeetn@yahoo.com.