Jesus Came to Reconcile the World to God

Two persons or parties cannot truly unite with one another if they are not of the same mind and heart. Also a true unity does not take place unless priority is given to the values that guarantee a long-lasting relationship. Unity with God also is not exempt from this principle. It is impossible for a person who is spiritually chained to the kingdom of sin, to unite with God, who is absolutely against sin by nature, unless that person allows his/her spiritual citizenship to become godly. This is what the true meaning and mission of Christmas should be since it is predominantly regarded as a season of celebration for the Birth of Jesus Christ. The revelation of Jesus Christ is to release people from the kingdom of Satan and establish them in the Kingdom of God. When we understand the way this transition takes place and when we allow this Redeemer to unite us with God, then we are with God and part of His community and plan, as the Gospel says:

But as many as received Him, He gave to them authority to become the children of God, to those who believe on His name. (John 1:12, MKJV)

Those who receive Christ and allow Him to set their minds and hearts in heaven are enabled to grasp the true meaning of Christmas, the Birth of Christ. This is because they have accepted the revelation of God in Christ and are thereby honored by God who declares them members of His own kingdom and household; His co-workers and children. (Ephesians 2) They now carry the citizenship of God’s Kingdom with God’s extraordinary reverence and have the right to be the spokesmen and women of God. They are authorized to represent God as His ambassadors and reveal His Kingdom values to those who do not know Him and haven’t received Him yet.

Therefore, the object of Christmas, in its true meaning, is to reveal that God stepped into life on earth in order to carry out His plan for long-lasting reconciliation and unity. Man’s mind and heart function conditionally and as a result produce conditional and relative reconciliation which can be breached anytime conditions necessitate. But God’s mind and heart are based on unconditional love which makes the harmony enduring from the beginning to the end. 

The unconditional love of God is His greatest Christmas gift to humanity. It is the greatest because while people were in bondage to Satan, God’s enemy, and did not deserve His love and forgiveness, He took a sacrificial step, paid an astonishing price in order to redeem people from the bondage of Satan and reconcile them to Himself. As the Gospel says:

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. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him. (John 3:16-17)

With this sacrifice, God gives His eternal love and compassion as free gifts to His own enemies (Romans 5:8) in order to open their eyes to the truth, redeem them from spiritual death and hopelessness and establish them in eternal life, peace and joy. Through this sacrificial initiative, God also reveals the doctrinal differences between His concept and the worldly concepts so that people can understand the object of His revelation in Jesus Christ and avoid blind obedience. As the Gospel says:

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:32, MKJV)

No matter who started the Christmas celebration, whether or not they were authorized by God to start such a celebration for the Birth of Christ or whether the day of Christmas matches the actual Birthday of Jesus Christ or not, the majority have accepted that Christmas is about the Birth of Jesus Christ. If this is the case now, it then should be a time of receiving and representing Jesus Christ and a season of experiencing the eternal joy of reconciliation with God.

God is not against people’s gifts to one another and their generosity towards needy people at Christmas time. But more than anything else, He loves the true message of Christmas being revealed to people through our gifts and through every other thing we do. For this reason, we need to allow our presents and happiness to function inside the frame-work of God’s plan for the salvation of the world. 

God revealed Himself in Jesus Christ to change us so that we can adapt ourselves to His way of life in order to have enduring peace in ourselves, in our relationships with one another and with God. God did not give His only begotten Son for the sake of our worldly and short-lived pleasures. The world’s pleasure is a self or a group oriented pleasure which can become the cause of misery for many. Aren’t thousands of wandering refugees in the Middle East the result of a self-oriented pleasure and preference? God’s pleasure is different from this worldly pleasure. Worldly pleasure is without Christ, alienated from the heart of God and does not focus on the purposes of life. This is because it is not from God and therefore cannot be the object of true life. God’s pleasure instead is to save and shield people from extremists and to give purpose to their lives. God is like the shepherd who attends his flocks sacrificially and delights in them. God rejoices over preparing His followers to become like Him and be blessings to one another.

Let us therefore please the heart of our God and practically prove to people that Christmas is about the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ. He revealed Himself in Jesus to give us a heavenly identity so that we could put Jesus at the center of our lives and make His expectations our priorities. He expects us to be functional with our new heavenly identity on earth and proclaim to our children, grandchildren, surroundings and to the world that His Birth declares the everlasting love of the God of the universe to His creatures so that they can have long-lasting fellowship with God, rejoice in peace and unity with Him and one another eternally.

The Victory of the Birth of Christ

The Bible teaches us that the reason for the birth of Jesus Christ is to destroy the dividing walls of Satan among people and to reveal the image of true peace so that people can truly be reconciled to one another and to God.

What are the dividing walls and where are they? There are many barriers - philosophical, doctrinal, social, political and moral and they are in every part of life. The mastermind behind all these dividing walls is Satan. For this reason, people need someone greater than Satan to destroy his hindrances and demolish the dividing walls and establish peace. People need the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, whom the Bible describes as “Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace”.

Jesus is the only One who has overcome Satan and established justice victoriously in order to save people. The Bible describes His victory in amazing ways. Those who read the Gospel and discover His victory will put their trust in Him. They will no longer follow a man or even a prophet but Jesus, since victory belongs to Him only and peace and reconciliation cannot be achieved without Him.
Jesus came to this world in order to establish peace in the hearts of people and make them what they were meant to be before the fall - being with God as members of His household. Then, every good thing will be given to them.

We can see how vital it is to teach the Gospel of Jesus nationally and globally. Let us therefore embody the goal of God in manifesting Himself in Jesus Christ and act as His special vessels until all the world, including our nations, hear that they cannot succeed unless they follow Jesus. Jesus was born into this world to save the lost.

The Reason for Christmas

The Gospel states that the very reason for the birth and revelation of Christ is that He appeared to destroy the devil’s work (1John 3:8b), establish justice in the hearts of people (Matt.12:20-21) and enlighten the world with peace (Col.1:20). The revelation of Christ was not to breach the free choice of people, as many beliefs in the world do in various ways, but to free them from breaching each other’s rights, release them from a sense of superiority or inferiority and comfort them with joy, equality and peace:

And the angel said to them [shepherds], Do not fear. For behold, I give to you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For to you is born today, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this is a sign to you. You will find the babe wrapped, lying in a manger.  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,  Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men (Luke 2:10-14).

Many Christians, therefore, celebrate Christmas for Jesus Christ’s coming to release humanity from sin, hatred, hostility and establish peace and unity among them. In His entire mission on earth, Jesus did not teach hatred or war, but instead asked His followers to love and bless even their enemies, because nothing can change the heart of an enemy except for God’s Love. Who, other than Jesus, could change the heart of a fundamental Muslim like me, whose overriding focus was to spread the intolerance and hostility of Islam? For this reason, Jesus is called the ‘Prince of Peace’ and ‘worthy of praise’ in the Bible. And for this reason, an astonishing enthusiasm and reception is growing among Muslims and other non-Christians for the Gospel message of Christmas, even in the midst of relatives and friends who have sought to take the Name of Christ out of the Christmas season in the West. How wonderful and amazing is the love of Jesus, who approaches even His enemies with absolute and unconditional love!

Opponents of Christ, who have been doing their utmost to oppose His Birthday celebration, have not always succeeded in their attempts. They have not only been torturing our hearts but their own hearts also, as many of their own children and followers  discovered the true message of Christ’s birth - nothing but peace and joy, and withdrew from their false accusations and joined Jesus. There are many Iranian Muslims in Iran who love to celebrate Christmas and even have Christmas trees in their homes, a practice that entered the culture from the time of the ousted Shah of Iran who was very open to western cultural traditions. People have been forbidden to celebrate Christmas since the Islamic Republic of Iran considers it a crime. Despite this hostility, thousands of Iranians have been giving their hearts to Christ each year and celebrating His presence. We have heard many of them say, “Every day is a Christmas day for us. Some of us have become homeless for the sake of Christ and do not have a home for a Christmas tree and to celebrate Jesus’ birth openly. But every tree we see daily speaks of the glory of Christ and is a Christmas tree for us. Our Christmas gift to our children is the Cross we carry in our hearts for Christ and for our fellow citizens.”

What a powerful testimony of Christmas from the land of cruel beliefs and leaders! This will touch the heart of Christ and the hearts of His heavenly hosts so deeply. This loving sacrifice and enduring testimony will bring the tower of cruelty down in their lands. It is just a matter of time. They will see it because they are patient and have given all judgment to the Son of God. Their proclamation is the proclamation of the Bible that says:

For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be on His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. There is no end of the increase of His government and peace on the throne of David, and on His kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from now on, even forever. The zeal of Jehovah of Hosts will do this (Isaiah 9: 6-7).

In the worst of times, their Master Jesus has comforted them. He is with them to bear their burden when they undergo persecution (2 Corinthians 4:9), and become the source of their joy when they grieve (2 Corinthians 6:10), because the Son of God was born to give them courage in this intolerant and cruel world (John 16:33) and lead them into perfection. Therefore, these children of Peace are called to love their enemies (Matthew 5:44), as Love is the only motivating source for true and lasting peace. The birth of Christ was to establish this everlasting love on earth.