Luke 2:8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 “ Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
I am not as good in a supermarket as my wife, so I depend on the help that I get from the store’s management to help me out. When I go into the store I look for a sign. If I want something I look for the sign they have suspending from the ceiling that tells me where to find the bread, or the canned vegetables, or cereal. I walk keeping my eye on the sign so that I go down the right aisle. When I get in the right row I then look for the sign that tells me exactly what I am looking for and to let me k now when I have found it, particularly if it is something on sale and only a particular size or weight is on sell. There will be a sign to let me know I have found the right thing I was looking for. The sale sign and what it stands go together. The sign does not symbolize something that is somewhere else. The sign given to the shepherds helped them to find what they needed.
What does this have to do with Christmas? Everything! If the Son of God is not conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary, then He has no body and blood to give you for the forgiveness of sins. The sign of the Savior, the Babe in the manger-He is the greatest gift of Christmas. I pray that this Christmas finds you well, and that you receive some pleasant gifts for life in this world. And if each gift must eventually teach us that everything breaks in this world, I pray that each gift you give or receive might point to the gift that Christ bestows upon you by His birth in the manger. For whether or not you have received what you wanted this Christmas, He faithfully gives you what you most dearly need: You are forgiven for all of your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. God bless you and yours this Christmas time of the year.
I am not as good in a supermarket as my wife, so I depend on the help that I get from the store’s management to help me out. When I go into the store I look for a sign. If I want something I look for the sign they have suspending from the ceiling that tells me where to find the bread, or the canned vegetables, or cereal. I walk keeping my eye on the sign so that I go down the right aisle. When I get in the right row I then look for the sign that tells me exactly what I am looking for and to let me k now when I have found it, particularly if it is something on sale and only a particular size or weight is on sell. There will be a sign to let me know I have found the right thing I was looking for. The sale sign and what it stands go together. The sign does not symbolize something that is somewhere else. The sign given to the shepherds helped them to find what they needed.
What does this have to do with Christmas? Everything! If the Son of God is not conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary, then He has no body and blood to give you for the forgiveness of sins. The sign of the Savior, the Babe in the manger-He is the greatest gift of Christmas. I pray that this Christmas finds you well, and that you receive some pleasant gifts for life in this world. And if each gift must eventually teach us that everything breaks in this world, I pray that each gift you give or receive might point to the gift that Christ bestows upon you by His birth in the manger. For whether or not you have received what you wanted this Christmas, He faithfully gives you what you most dearly need: You are forgiven for all of your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. God bless you and yours this Christmas time of the year.