[dropcap]C[/dropcap]hristmas is that time when just before the year ends you put on the brakes and also pull out all stops to reflect on the days gone by and revel in the joy of company of family, friends and colleagues. Almost everyone has a song in their lips or at least one in their hearts. Good cheer all around is almost tangible.The sick,the grieving, the poor and the needy are not left out in the celebrations. This, because Christ came for the sick and the needy not for the wealthy and the healthy. What make Christmas unique from other festive celebrations? In Christmas, the plans and purpose of God to save mankind unfold. And because of Christmas as believers we experience His grace to take us through this life. Because of Christmas we know that the world we live is only time temporarily on loan. We were created in His image to be with him, to be like him but sin of the first man caused the fall. But in Christmas all the plans of God for his creation are restored. When we celebrate Christmas we celebrate God’s love for us. He was born to die so that we might have life and life abundantly because he conquered death! And his promise is that he is coming back again and that he is always with us … only a prayer away. What a privilege! Think of it God died to save you, to save me!! The words in the refrain of hymn says. “Holy, Holy, is what the angels sing, And I expect to help them make the courts of heaven ring; But when I sing redemption’s story, they will fold their wings,For angels never felt the joys that our salvation brings.”
Wretched as we are, when we fall away from the chosen way, it is because of Christmas that we have a hope . The celebration of Christmas is the celebration of the phenomenon when God came to earth in human form, to pursue the fallen man (Adam) and gather us all close to him. It is about God’s pursuit to draw us to Himself. In other religions people seek out their Gods. They perform penance to earn his favor, they keep up rituals, they also perform good works hoping that all of this will bring him closer to his creator.
But the story of Christmas is the story of the Savior who loved his creation so much, he was not going to let them be destroyed. As Paul affirms, “God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law”(Gal 4:4-5).
Think about it, where would we Nagas be today if God was not the “Hound of Heaven”?
