Christmas, whatever its true date, is when God became one of us, so that when the time came, he could demonstrate, by dying for us, that he loves us despite our works, whether they are good or sin. He came to demonstrate that his unconditional love motivates choosing good works over sin, rather than the other way around: good works motivating unconditional love (which would be a contradiction). This took a while to sink in for his original disciples (hence, Paul), and most the world–even many claiming to be Christians–still don’t get it…even though Christ did not arrive, live, or die unannounced. He is the summing up of the Old Testament, all of which foreshadowed his coming…and his return. The world thinks this is crazy, and it is. But it’s crazy good.
In fact, Christmas is the only reason ‘good’ can possibly describe anything in reality. In order for goodness to be “true” it must describe a being that IS goodness. If there is no God who actually demonstrates that he always is and does Golden Rule love (which is what he did by becoming one of us and switching perspectives on the cross)–then there is no always-good being in reality to which “good” can correspond (be true). God did that, because his goodness is real.
That’s the true meaning of Christmas.
Originally posted at Ichthus77.
