The True Story of Christmas

on December 1, 2014

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

You will hear many stories at Christmas time, but this is the true account of Jesus’s life as it’s written in God’s word.

Jesus is the Creator of the world (Colossians 1:16). Genesis, the first book of the Bible, tells us that everything was made by God. Everything was made perfect, but the first people, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God. The punishment for their disobedience was death. That’s why everybody will someday die. The whole world was in big trouble, but God had a plan.

At that first Christmas in Bethlehem, our Creator God came as a little baby to the earth He had made. As a baby, Jesus needed to be cared for by His mom and dad. The God who made everything snuggled in his mommy’s arms. Wow!

But Jesus was not welcomed on Earth. The Bible tells us that there was no room found for Jesus, so He was laid in a manger instead of a proper bed. King Herod even tried to kill Jesus, so His parents had to run away with Him to Egypt.

The sad thing is that many people do not welcome Jesus on Earth today either and do not want children to know the true story of Christmas—that Jesus stepped into history by being born in a manger because of His unending love for us. The Bible tells us that people don’t want to welcome Jesus because they love their sin instead of loving Jesus (John 3:19–20).

Jesus came from heaven to be laid down in a manger, but He didn’t stay there. Jesus grew up and eventually sinful people nailed Jesus to the Cross and killed Him. But this wasn’t a surprise to Jesus! Jesus was born so that He could die. But why did Jesus have to die? Jesus had to die to save us from our sin. You see, the punishment for sin is death, so Jesus came to Earth and died in our place! But Jesus didn’t stay dead. He rose again and now offers us life forever with Him. Everyone who receives Jesus becomes a child of God!

Jesus wasn’t welcome when He came to Earth, and many people won’t welcome Him today. But Jesus is our Creator who came to Earth to save us! Will you welcome Jesus into your heart today?