Each year as we enjoy the Christmas season and the hopes of a new year, it is good for us to reflect on the uniqueness of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. As believers in the authority and inspiration of the Bible we share the hope and conviction that the return of Christ is not only promised, but that those momentous events described in Matthew chapter 24 and Revelation chapters 6 to18 cannot be far away.
The world, for the most part, however, does not hold such belief or expectation. The world celebrates Christmas without Christ and this grows more blatantly obvious as the years go by. Many today even resent the singing of carols or any sort of religious emphasis or focus during this season of the year. Some have even suggested changing the name of the season to some secular, nondescript name, thereby eliminating all reference to the birth of the Christ child. In fact, do we not now live in an age in which only one prejudice is seemingly tolerated—anti-Christian bigotry?
Today, it seems, the only group you can hold up to public mockery and verbal ridicule without legal consequences, is Christians. Attacks on the Church and Christianity are commonplace in our society. As political pundit Pat Buchanan once said, “Christian-bashing is a popular indoor sport.”
But this should not surprise us. The world view, which more and more Americans have opted to embrace, is that of secular humanism with its hope in mankind and man made systems, not in the God-man, Christ Jesus. Ironically, the prevailing secular world view brings only despondency, disappointment, and discontent. Our world is full of problems with no clear solutions. The nations and governments are clearly unhappy with the job they themselves are doing. Try as they do, nothing really changes. Man searches for answers and solutions, but continues to find only frustration in his feeble plans.
This has opened the door for the New Age movement and its confidence in mankind, mother earth and the powers of man. But New Agers believe in what amounts to demonic powers; the powers that are behind all the religions of the world, the cults, and occult. The world has always had its religious leaders and false messiahs. Christ warned that in the last days many false messiahs would arise, which, as John tells us, will culminate in the emergence of the antichrist (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3) all those opposed to the authenticity of Christ.
Of the religions of the world, true Christianity is unique because it stems from the uniqueness of Jesus Christ, the greatest man who ever lived. In Jesus, we have One who has virtually changed every aspect of human life, but sadly, most people are completely oblivious to the reality of how He has so completely impacted the world. Certainly one of the great tragedies of the Christmas holidays each year is not just the commercialization of His birth, but the way it is trivialized even when people do speak of His birth and Christmas as an expression of the “spirit of giving". How tragic it is that people have forgotten Him to whom they owe so very much.
The person, work, and life of Jesus Christ stands as irrefutable evidence against the secular world view and all the religions of the world regardless of their claims. No one else is qualified or capable to meet the needs of fallen humanity or restore that which was lost in the tragic fall of man. Jesus alone is able to accomplish what no one else in the universe can, and, based on His death as the Lamb and His resurrection as the Redeemer/Savior, He alone, who now reigns as King, is the source of hope and comfort in this tragic world in which we live.
As Christmas approaches may we consider the uniqueness of Christ. Let us never forget that we also need to acknowledge that His uniqueness demands our total allegiance and commitment as believers. It demands that we rearrange our priorities and stand as luminaries in a dark and dismal world holding forth the message of the unique Christ, the God-man Savior of the World. Jesus Himself sought to impress this mindset on His disciples when He said, “You are the salt of the earth, … You are the light of the world …” (Matt. 5:13-16).
In the person of Jesus Christ, we have one so unique that His life cannot be explained by natural processes. His person and life defy the natural. The uniqueness of Jesus Christ presents evidence, as Josh McDowell has so well said “demands a verdict,” that this Man is not only unique, but the Savior of the world.
Remember Him everyday, and honor Him in this season of remembrance of His birth into the world He came to save.
May you have a Merry Christmas with family and friends.
