Christmas has a very special meaning for some people, while not so much for others. But what does Christmas mean to you? At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus, Son of God, Creator of the Universe, humble Lord, Deliverer, Truth, Peace, Light, Way and Life. The essence of Christmas is the Messiah.
We have gone through some difficult years of the pandemic, but we are still alive. That’s wonderful, isn’t it? God, the Creator of the Universe, keeping our lives until this moment. And if you had COVID-19, with or without complications, He has preserved you and that’s why you’re still here, alive. Cultivate gratitude for this. Gratitude is important to our health, isn’t it? So it may be that you have lost some loved one in your family or a friend this year for whatever reason. But God has preserved your life.
You are here and certainly, the kind Lord has given you strength to deal with the losses that have occurred this year in your life, whether it be financial, emotional or loss of someone important to you. The Bible says that God does not let anyone go through trials beyond what one can endure.
Secondly, it also reveals that the difficulties we have to face can be God’s instruments to mature us. Yes, there is a spiritual war going on in this universe, a war between good and evil. This war is as much out there in society, as it is inside our minds.
But this text gives us comfort and confidence if we are connected with Jesus, who is the essence of Christmas:
Even the power of demons is under the control of our Savior, and the working of evil is overruled for good.
White, E.G. The Desire of Ages, p. 340
This is coming from one of the best books on the life of Jesus. You can get this book for free on this site: whiteestate.org
See also this other quote that talks about the sovereignty of God and his kind, protective and restorative character:
All earthly powers are under the control of the Infinite One. To the mightiest ruler, to the most cruel oppressor, He says, “Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further.” Job 38:11. God’s power is constantly exercised to counteract the agencies of evil; He is ever at work among men, not for their destruction, but for their correction and preservation.
White, E.G. Patriarchs and Prophets, 694
Have you noticed how this text ends? I will repeat: “He (God, the creator of the universe) is always at work among human beings, not to destroy them, but to correct and preserve.” So I think this: God is always working in your life, not to destroy, but to correct something bad that hurts you and to preserve your physical, mental, and spiritual health. Nothing is by chance. Christmas means: to be born for health, to be born for fraternity, to be born for compassion. Remember that we are all human beings, we are brothers by creation, we are in the same boat, that is, we will die and we need a God to give us eternal life, the eternal Christmas.
Philosophers use the expression, ” We are a being destined for death.” Yes, we are going to death, the one the Bible calls the first death. It speaks of a second death, which will be eternal after the Final Judgment. So Christmas is to be alive and to be able to acquire eternal life, having victory over the second death, by the grace of the Lord Jesus and by the salvation he has provided for us on the cross.
To be alive is wonderful! Usually, when I open my eyes in the morning, I do this almost every day, I say to God the Creator: ” Thank you, Lord, for continuing to be alive! ” This is wonderful! You are alive! So, there is still the chance for change, to get further, to greater personal growth. If you want a proof that the Creator of the universe still has something to tell you, to mend your character defects, or to use you to help other people, and that He still has something for your life, the proof is that you are alive, right? While you´re alive, there is hope.
So Christmas is spirituality. It is submitting to the Creator, to the Lord Jesus Christ. It means humbling oneself before the reality of human, personal or technological impotence. Medical technology, for example, is wonderful indeed, but it can’t generate life. Being spiritual means submission to the truth, to the light, that comes to all, though not everyone wants it. Being spiritual has to do with perceiving reality beyond the ordinarily observable. Being spiritual is something extraordinary, beyond the ordinary, beyond the conventional.
Going to church on weekends is something ordinary. You can do this for decades and still not be a spiritual person. Why is that? You can become dependent on what the leader of your religious community says and preaches, and you do not research for yourself what the truth is. Maybe you want to stay in the humanistic comfort zone, or because the attractions of the world can blind and trap you, or because you go to church in a well-conditioned, half-decorated way, without any deep sense attached to it.
The most spiritual person who has ever passed through this earth in my view, Jesus Christ, came in poverty and humility to be our example and our Redeemer. If He had appeared in royal pomp, how could he have taught humility, right? How could He have presented the truths so incisively, like those of the Sermon on the Mount? Where would the hope of the materially poor of life be, if Jesus had come to dwell as the king among men? Jesus was even courteous to his persecutors, even those individuals who had fallen morally lower in society. They were treated with respect by Jesus, who saw each person through the eyes of divine compassion. How wonderful is that! What a Christmas!
In this difficult time, it is important that you exercise compassion for people, for anyone, by helping, supporting, forgiving, protecting, and exercising self-control over your aggressive and selfish impulses, to protect people from yourself, in case you are, perhaps, somewhat rude in your words.
You know, Jesus can change that character flaw in you, as he has changed the apostle Peter. Peter was impulsive and bold, and how did Jesus change John and James, right? They are even called by the Master the sons of Thunder, because they were explosive before learning meekness from Jesus. Seek for yourself the presence of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Christmas! Listen with respect to the leaders of your religious community, but go personally, individually, in the quest for light, truth, doctrine, which, being Christian, is in the Bible.
If Nathaniel, one of Christ’s earliest disciples, had relied on the direction of the rabbis, who were the leaders of the Jewish church of the time, he would never have found Jesus. It was seeing and judging for himself that he became a disciple. So, in this sincere, persistent, daily search, your spirituality will gradually emerge.
Years ago, I read a book by a professor from the University of São Paulo. He is a retired psychiatrist and psychoanalyst. He wrote in his book: “Psychotherapy Religion”, that the mature man, the mature woman is spiritualized.
Christmas is spirituality. People can fight or challenge our logic. They can resist our appeals. But the selfless life of love is an argument that cannot be resisted. A coherent life, characterized by the meekness of Christ, is a force in the world. It is Christmas that should be, in fact, one day at a time and every day. Solomon is saying the following:
And he who waters will also be watered himself.
Proverbs 11:25 (New King James Version)
In other words, you give and receive, if you give from all the heart. Christmas is about giving, and I believe that the best gift you can give and receive is the one that feeds your spirituality. Everything else ends, passes, wears out, gets old, breaks, goes out of style, but Christmas remains. Jesus Christ, Christmas, the personification of spirituality. We are a family with you, who may be going through difficulties, but we are with you, and Jesus Christ is there looking to help you. Accept his help. Accept our embrace. Merry Christmas!
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Dr. Cesar Vasconcellos de Souza is working as a psychiatrist and international speaker. He is author of 3 books, columnist of the health magazine “Vida e Saúde” for 25 years, and has a regular program on the “Novo Tempo” TV channel.
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