“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.” (Luke 2:1-14)

We can get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season, but we should always remember what is important. The angel said the news of Jesus’ birth would cause “great joy” and be “for all the people.” A Savior came to this earth, which is why we celebrate.

I want us to look at the angel’s three titles to Jesus and their importance: We have a Savior who came to deliver us from sin and death. Matthew writes in 1:21, “And She will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” We have the Messiah who fulfills the Law and the Prophets, revealing that God is always faithful. We also read in Matthew 5:17,  “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”  The divine Lord stepped out of Heaven and came here to earth. He took on human flesh. Again we read in Matthew 1:23, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, as “God with us.”

We celebrate Christ and know that all the Lord’s promises are “Yes” and “Amen, “all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.” (2 Corinthians 1:20) In 2 Corinthians 9:15, we read, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” I am reminded we must celebrate the “indescribable gift.”

I was 12 years old in 1987 when the national news kept us well-informed about a toddler named Jessica McClure. The little girl had fallen into an eight-inch well casing, becoming stuck twenty-two feet below ground. The rescuers immediately acted once people discovered that “Baby Jessica” was in the well. The rescuers did not tell her to get back up the best way she could; no, they went down and got her. They worked nonstop for fifty-eight hours to free her.

Adam and Eve sinned, and because of that, we inherited a sinful nature. However, just like the rescuers in Texas, God came down to save us. This is the “good news” we share: the Gospel. The next time you find yourself wishing, “I wish Christmas were over,” remember that He came to rescue you and me.

Jeremy Dykes, CBC Executive Board