by Mitchell Skelton

I love Christmas. There is no one facet of Christmas that makes the season so charming to me. I think it is the combination of all the different aspects. I enjoy the family gatherings, the food, giving gifts, the eyes of little children as they set their gaze upon Santa Clause, and, of course, there is the receiving of gifts. Christmas became much sweeter to me when I became a father. Nothing thrills me more than to watch my children as they unwrap that one special gift; the one Santa always puts way behind the tree so that you inevitably open it last.

One thing that has always puzzled me about Christmas is the zealot-like effort that some men put forth to show that Jesus really wasn't born on December 25th. The reality that Jesus was or was not born on this specific day really does not matter in the big scheme of things. Nowhere in the Bible are we commanded to celebrate the birth of Christ and yet nowhere in the Bible are we told to ignore his birth either.

Like it or not, the majority of people in the world still celebrate December 25th as the birthday of Jesus Christ. Rather than ignore his birth or, worse yet, try to discredit the holiday and those who observe it, I believe we should embrace this holiday as an evangelistic opportunity.

One of the first examples of evangelism was Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. Philip found the eunuch, a religious man, reading prophesies about Christ from Isaiah 53. The Bible tells us; "Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus" (Acts 8:35). Philip did not assume that the eunuch was naive or unlearned in the Scripture, yet he knew there was more he needed to know. The eunuch needed to hear the good news about Jesus. The eunuch had an obvious interest in God and a desire to know about the prophesied Messiah. Philip capitalized on this man's desire to learn about Christ and the eunuch, after being baptized, "went on his way rejoicing." We, too, should learn from Philip's example. Wherever we find a seeker of Christ, there is where we should start teaching them the good news. With so many seekers of Christ focusing on his birth during this Christmas season we would be careless, even negligent, if we did not start from "that very passage of Scripture" and tell them the good news about Jesus.

The birth of Jesus was good news for all people. "But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people" (Luke 2:10). Jesus' birth was good news because it brought light into the darkness of the world. "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). Jesus' birth was necessary for our atonement. For Jesus to take away our sins he had to become human. "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people" (Heb. 2:14—17).

The birth of Jesus was a demonstration of God's grace. The birth of Jesus was God's declaration to mankind that he takes sin seriously. Jesus came to take away the sin of the world. "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isa. 53:5—6). Jesus came to give us the gift of grace. "But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!" (Rom. 5:15—17).

The news of a gracious Savior requires man to act. The shepherds' example in the birth narrative of Jesus shows us the urgency of seeking Christ. Upon hearing the news of the birth of a Savior the Bible says, "They hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby" (Luke 2:16). In Matthew's account of Jesus' birth, we find the story of the Magi or Wise Men who sought out the newborn King of the Jews. What we know to be true of these men is still true today; wise men still seek Him! "Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the LORD" (Ps. 107:43).

This Christmas season, do the right thing concerning true seekers of Christ. Take them from where they are and teach them the good news!