This Friday the nursery and preschool children at Harvest will be throwing a birthday party for Jesus. That raises the question, What does Jesus want for Christmas? It may sound like a silly question, but I think Scripture offers us a very serious answer.
I get my answer from Titus 2:11-14 (ESV) - 11For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
These verses give us the reason for Christmas, which is when God’s saving grace in Jesus first appeared. Verse 11 tells us that God’s grace is meant to train us to live godly lives, and verse 14 says that Jesus gave His life not only to forgive us of our wrongdoing (“redeem us from all lawlessness”) but also to transform us into a people characterized by righteousness (“zealous for good works”). Jesus’ aim in coming wasn’t simply to offer sin-pardoning grace (as wonderful as that is!) but also to make for Himself a people who live out sin-conquering grace as we wait for sin-eradicating grace at His return.
On the basis of this Scripture I think it is safe to say that what Jesus wants for Christmas is for His blood-bought people to live holy lives that point the watching world to the glory of His incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and imminent return.
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