The Enduring Promise of Christmas

The figurine of baby Jesus is displayed for the Christmas Eve mass at the St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican on Dec. 24, 2022. Andreas Solaro/AFP via Getty Images

Commentary

The first Christmas was celebrated with humility, gratitude, and heavenly exultation as the promised Savior of the World was born. That promise is unbreakable.

Christmas 2022 is here, but do we still respect and acknowledge it the way we did, say, 20, 30, or even 50 years ago?

Most of us know the answer to that question. Some American Christians still do, of course, but the number of those who don’t is rising rapidly. It’s not just the celebration of Christmas that has diminished, but the belief and understanding in the relevance of its message have as well.

Americans are leaving the Christian faith in droves.

The Rise and Fall of Christianity

In the macro sense, the celebration of the Savior of the World has waned in most nations, except for China, Iran, and nations in Central Africa. Not coincidentally, the church thrives in those countries that persecute it the most.

In contrast, in the West, Christianity’s decline is well documented as well. Any observer can see that Christmas and the purpose of Christ’s birth have been marginalized, mischaracterized, commercialized, sexualized, politicized, and even demonized by popular culture and so-called Christian churches like the Church of England.

Indeed, the societal recognition and acknowledgment of Christ’s birth, what He did upon this Earth, His divine nature, and the promises of eternal life are virtually non-existent in the liberal democracies that were all founded upon the Christian faith.

Does this mean that the promise of Christmas, and more importantly, Christ’s promises to His followers, are false?

A man prays in a church as shoppers make their last-minute purchases on Christmas Eve in Birmingham, England, on Dec. 24, 2018. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Promises Made and Kept

Not at all. In fact, Christ made us many promises regarding His mission on Earth and how most of the world would receive them—or instead, refuse to do so.

His promise of, “Whoever believed in Him shall have eternal life,” is one of the most important and famous ones, though there are many others worth understanding that were made by Him and about Him. Below are just a few.

In Genesis 22:8, Abraham tells Isaac that “God will provide His own lamb for sacrifice,” and Isaac’s life is spared.

Then, some 700 years or so before the first Christmas, the Jewish prophet Isaiah proclaims Jesus’s birth and purpose. “For unto us a child is born, unto us, a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

About 200 hundred years later, around 530 B.C., the prophet Daniel gave us the exact year that Jesus the Messiah would be revealed to the world. It was to occur in 29 A.D., the year Jesus began his ministry.

Finally, early in the fifth century B.C., Micah specifically told us that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem: “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.”

Jesus’s Promises to Believers

There are other promises that preceded Jesus’s birth, but you get the point. But a couple of promises that Jesus made regarding His followers seem to become truer and more relevant every day.

“If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.”

That may not resonate with many in the West, but believers in China, Iran, and Africa are living—and dying—for that promise.

The Lord also said, “Fear not, for I am with you.”

If you take that to heart, then fear has no hold on you or your thoughts.

Finally, Jesus promised us that He has “prepared a place” for those that believe His promise and accept His gift of eternal life.

This is the true promise of Christmas.

Just as we look upon a child and see the promise of a better future, so, too, should we look upon the promise of the first Christmas and know that the future is already known, already settled, and belongs entirely to the One Who has already created it.

See Through the Diversion

In that context, the distortions we see in how the Christmas season is celebrated these days, though they can be discouraging, are mere imposters of the true meaning.

Do they offend and divert our sensibilities away from the real meaning? For some of us, perhaps they do.

At the same time, the energetic efforts to accomplish such deception are, in a way, a reflection of just how powerful and enduring the promise of Christmas truly is.

In the micro or personal sense, the answer to whether Christmas is still relevant is, like most things in our lives, up to each of us.

Let us, therefore, claim the promise of the birth of a child in Bethlehem nearly 2,000 years ago, and gratefully wish each other ...

A very Merry Christmas.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.