The best Christmas present

319 the best Christmas presentEvery year on the 2nd5. December, Christianity celebrates the birth of Jesus, Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary. The Bible does not contain any information about the exact date of birth. Jesus' birth probably did not take place in winter when we celebrate it. Luke reports that Emperor Augustus ordered that the inhabitants of the whole Roman world had to be registered in tax lists (Luke 2,1) and “everyone went to be registered, every one to his own city,” including Joseph and Mary, who was with child (Luke 2,3-5). Some scholars have dated Jesus' actual birthday in early autumn rather than in the middle of winter. But regardless of when exactly the day Jesus was born, celebrating his birth is definitely worth it.

The 25. December gives us the opportunity to remember a wonderful moment in human history: the day our Savior was born. It is important to remember that Christ’s birthday does not end with the Christmas story. Each year of his short life, which ended with his death on the cross and his resurrection and his ascension to heaven, Jesus spent his birthdays on earth. Year after year he lived among us. He didn't just come for his first birthday - he lived with us as a person throughout his lifetime. He was with us every birthday of his life.

Since Jesus Christ is both fully human and totally God, we know that he fully understands us. He knows us inside out; He knows what it means to feel pain, cold and hunger, but also earthly joy. He breathed the same air, walked on the same earth, had the same physical body as us. His perfect life on earth is a model of love for everyone and care for the needy and the universal service of God.

The best news of the Christmas story is this: Jesus is present now! His feet are no longer dirty and sore, because his body is now glorified. The scars from the cross are still there; his stigmata are signs of his love for us. For our faith as Christians and for our mission here at the GCI / WKG, it is essential that we have an intercessor and representative in Jesus who was born a human being who lived as a human being and died as a human to save us , His resurrection gives us confidence that we, too, will be resurrected and welcome into God's family because he died for us.

One of the passages in the Old Testament that foretells the birth of Jesus is found in Isaiah 7,14: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin is with child and will give birth to a son, and she will name him Immanuel.” Immanuel is Hebrew and means “God with us”, which is a powerful reminder to us who Jesus is. He is the God who came down, God among us, a God who knows our sorrows and joys.

For me the greatest gift this Christmas is the reminder that Jesus came once and for all, and not just for a birthday. He lived as a person like you and me. He died a human so that we can have eternal life through him. Through the incarnation (incarnation) Jesus united with us. He became one of us so that we could be in God's family with him.

This is the core of our message to Grace Communion International / WKG. We have hope because we have Jesus, the Son of God who lived on earth as we do now. His life and teachings guide us and his death and resurrection give us salvation. We are united with each other because we are in him. If you support GCI / WKG financially, you support the spread of this gospel: We are redeemed by a God who loved us so much that he sent his only Son to be born human, to live as a human, to us to die the sacrificial death to resurrect and offer us a new life in it. This is the basis for this festival and the reason why we celebrate.

I hope that you will join us this month so that together we celebrate what we are constantly invited to, namely to establish a relationship with a God who understands us. Jesus' birth was our first Christmas present, but now we are celebrating Christ's birthday every year because he is still with us. His Holy Spirit lives in all his followers. He is always with us.

I wish you a blessed Christmas in Christ!

Joseph Tkach

President
GRACE COMMUNION INTERNATIONAL


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