BreakPoint
"Each year," writes T. M. Moore in our latest BreakPoint Worldview Church e-newsletter, "as the Christmas season unfolds, it becomes increasingly clear that a large number of people in our society have got it all wrong."
He's not talking about the crass materialism that cheapens what C. S. Lewis insisted on calling our Feast of the Nativity -- though that's a big problem. Instead he's concerned that, even in the Church, we present only half the message -- the good news -- while avoiding the bad news; "tidings of comfort and joy," but not warnings of division and judgment.
"The Good News of Jesus Christ is only good to those who find favor with God, as the angels announced on that first Christmas morn," writes Moore. He then goes on to say, "The Good News of the Christ-Child's birth is really bad news for the devil and his troop, for those who cling to earthly relationships above all else, and for all who find in wealth and things the fulfillment of their highest hopes. For all these," says Moore, "Christmas should come around each year with dread, fraught with warnings of judgment and calls to repentance."
It's bad news for the devil because the birth of the baby in Bethlehem "foreshadowed the victory of Christ on the cross" over the devil and his minions.
Second, says Moore, Christmas is "bad news for those who cling to human relationships." Christmas is, to read the cards, about everyone just getting along. It's about family and friends and being nice to the people who jostle you in the mall. As Moore puts it, "We want people to believe that, somehow, we can all just learn to get along in this world. We can be tolerant of one another, even if our toleration means confirming people in their lostness. And we use Christmas, of all times of the year, to promote this deception." Christmas, says Moore, is instead a reminder that Jesus "came to divide humanity along the lines of faith, those who are uncompromisingly committed to following the Bethlehem Babe against those who are determined to be the masters of their own fates."
Finally, says Moore, Christmas is bad news for "those who hope in wealth." In a wealthy nation like ours when gifts are on most people's minds, we forget the stern warnings Jesus gave about wealth. Moore writes, "We may try to deceive ourselves into thinking we can invest the greatest amount of our time, energy, creativity, and interest in making a good living, with just a pittance left over for the work of the Kingdom; but this is the devil's lie, and we [become] his followers, not Christ's, if we cling to it."
Moore's point comes down to this: Only when we know our need is Christ born with "tidings of great joy." Forgiveness is available, real change is possible, and eternal life is promised to those who will receive Jesus. Repentance leads to rejoicing.
So instead of making a last trip to the mall this Christmas Eve, go home, reflect on the birth of Jesus, and share it with friends and family along with hugs, good food, and gifts. Christmas is deeper, more profound, and more surprising than we ever thought.
All of us here at BreakPoint wish you and yours a happy and blessed Christmas.
For further reading and information:
Please help support the work of the Wilberforce Forum and BreakPoint. Call 1-877-322-5527 to make a tax-deductible donation today. Or donate online.
Telling the Whole Truth
"Each year," writes T. M. Moore in our latest BreakPoint Worldview Church e-newsletter, "as the Christmas season unfolds, it becomes increasingly clear that a large number of people in our society have got it all wrong."
He's not talking about the crass materialism that cheapens what C. S. Lewis insisted on calling our Feast of the Nativity -- though that's a big problem. Instead he's concerned that, even in the Church, we present only half the message -- the good news -- while avoiding the bad news; "tidings of comfort and joy," but not warnings of division and judgment.
"The Good News of Jesus Christ is only good to those who find favor with God, as the angels announced on that first Christmas morn," writes Moore. He then goes on to say, "The Good News of the Christ-Child's birth is really bad news for the devil and his troop, for those who cling to earthly relationships above all else, and for all who find in wealth and things the fulfillment of their highest hopes. For all these," says Moore, "Christmas should come around each year with dread, fraught with warnings of judgment and calls to repentance."
It's bad news for the devil because the birth of the baby in Bethlehem "foreshadowed the victory of Christ on the cross" over the devil and his minions.
Second, says Moore, Christmas is "bad news for those who cling to human relationships." Christmas is, to read the cards, about everyone just getting along. It's about family and friends and being nice to the people who jostle you in the mall. As Moore puts it, "We want people to believe that, somehow, we can all just learn to get along in this world. We can be tolerant of one another, even if our toleration means confirming people in their lostness. And we use Christmas, of all times of the year, to promote this deception." Christmas, says Moore, is instead a reminder that Jesus "came to divide humanity along the lines of faith, those who are uncompromisingly committed to following the Bethlehem Babe against those who are determined to be the masters of their own fates."
Finally, says Moore, Christmas is bad news for "those who hope in wealth." In a wealthy nation like ours when gifts are on most people's minds, we forget the stern warnings Jesus gave about wealth. Moore writes, "We may try to deceive ourselves into thinking we can invest the greatest amount of our time, energy, creativity, and interest in making a good living, with just a pittance left over for the work of the Kingdom; but this is the devil's lie, and we [become] his followers, not Christ's, if we cling to it."
Moore's point comes down to this: Only when we know our need is Christ born with "tidings of great joy." Forgiveness is available, real change is possible, and eternal life is promised to those who will receive Jesus. Repentance leads to rejoicing.
So instead of making a last trip to the mall this Christmas Eve, go home, reflect on the birth of Jesus, and share it with friends and family along with hugs, good food, and gifts. Christmas is deeper, more profound, and more surprising than we ever thought.
All of us here at BreakPoint wish you and yours a happy and blessed Christmas.
For further reading and information:
Please help support the work of the Wilberforce Forum and BreakPoint. Call 1-877-322-5527 to make a tax-deductible donation today. Or donate online.
- M. Moore, "The Jesus We Preach at Christmas," Worldview Church, December 2004.
Subscribe today to the free Worldview Church e-newsletter, and please tell others about it!
Michael Snyder, "Holy Invasion," BreakPoint WorldView, December 2003.
Catherina Hurlburt, "The Forgotten Mother," BreakPoint WorldView, May 2004.
BreakPoint Commentary No. 031224, "The Most Shocking Story Ever Told: The 'True Meaning of Christmas.'"
John Koessler, "Why I Return to the Pews," Christianity Today, December 2004.
Charles Colson with Anne Morse, How Now Shall We Live? Devotional (Tyndale, 2004).
12/24/04
