Image courtesy of FreeBibleimages.org. Artwork by Jan van 't Hoff / Gospelimages.com
The King of the whole world is born? How incredible, a King like no other! That the King who created, and who sustains our wonderful world actually came down from heaven to be born on Christmas day as a helpless baby in a manger.
Has there ever been a king who has given up so much?
This King gave up his exalted position in heaven, His close union with His father, the adoration, worship and respect of the angels, all the heavenly beings and the saints. Instead, He was born in a lowly stable and when he grew up, He became a servant to all; he lived on earth amongst a flawed, working class family – even His own brothers didn’t believe in him; He endured the scorn and derision of the priests and the hordes of people who refused to believe who he was, despite the numerous prophecies in Scripture which point to this very King being the Messiah, the Saviour of the world.
Even as a baby, there was a very real threat against His life as the earthly king Herod attempted to murder Him. But this is a King like no other: nothing, or nobody, will succeed against God. Nobody will be able to thwart God’s purposes for mankind. Nobody could do it then, nobody will do it now, and nobody will be able to do it in the future.
So once again this Christmas season, Christians all over the world will be celebrating the birth of The King. And what a King. A King like no other. The King of the whole world. A King who loved the world so much, who had so much love in His heart that He was prepared to sacrifice everything, even His very life, so that He could save even the very sinful people who crucified him.
So amongst the excitement of this Christmas – the great joy that the event brings to millions all around the world – and amongst all the Christmas trees, the glittering decorations, the delicious and sometimes elaborate feasts, the Christmas carols, the festive atmosphere, it would be good to step back for a moment from the busyness and bluster of the celebration to worship this King of the whole world. To stand in awe at that famous nativity scene. To be stirred to worship by the age-old crib amongst the lowing cattle and the bleating sheep, the choirs of angels, Mary, Joseph and the baby. The Christ. The Son of the living God.
I hope your Christmas will be especially blessed this year. If you’re surrounded by family, enjoy each others’ company; if you’re not and you’re feeling lonely, maybe you can draw closer to the King of the whole world. Jesus. A King like no other.
In my life, I’ve enjoyed the blessings of big family Christmases: my parents, siblings, nieces and nephews and my own children all congregating in our holiday home at Great Brak River on the Garden route. What fun we all had decorating the tree, preparing the meal, meeting on the island tennis court for one big happy ‘family’ reunion, singing carols and listening to messages about sharing, going for pre-lunch swims, and the crème-da-le-crème, feasting on the turkey, ham, Christmas pudding, pulling crackers, making jokes.
Fortunately, only a couple of times in my life, I experienced a solitary Christmas away from my immediate family. On one occasion, I put out an invitation on my fellowship group for lunch at my house for anyone who didn’t have family around. (Just about everyone I know has some family around for Christmas, so I wasn’t expecting anyone to accept my invitation.) Luckily, two people accepted, so I wasn’t alone for Christmas lunch.
On another occasion, a friend from a retirement village invited me to a bring-and-share lunch, a rather sad affair where everyone brought sandwiches and appeared to be locked in worlds of their own. And once, I recall spending Christmas entirely on my own. I had to shake myself out of feeling sorry for myself, particularly when I remembered what Christmas is really supposed to be about. It’s about celebrating the King. The King of the whole world.
Happy Christmas!
