Christmas has gotten quite controversial. Maybe it always was and I was naïve as a child, but with social media now, our world has changed.
Who knew how much social media would change our world, and how many different kinds of social media there would be? I certainly didn’t.
But social media isn’t king. Christmas has changed our world even more than social media has and this affects you personally.
I know some will argue that Christmas only changed the world for those who believe in Jesus. I beg to differ.
Because of Christmas our world changed forever no matter what you believe.
CHRISTMAS CHANGED TIME
At its core, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, aka Jesus of Nazareth.
So let’s look at this Jesus.
In the timeline of history, there are BC and AD. BC stands for Before Christ and AD stands for anno domini meaning in the year of our Lord.
This change came about because of the Jesus of Christmas. No other human being in history has reset the calendar.
- Because of Christmas,there is a split in time.
- Because of Christmas,the world started over.
- Because ofChristmas everyone’s date of birth is connected to the birth of Jesus.
Christmas, the celebration of a birthday, gave you a different birthday than if Christmas had never happened.
Christmas involves you at a personal level. Whether you like it or not, believe in Jesus or not, you are forever connected to Christmas.
Time was changed for all humankind because of Christmas.
CHRISTMAS CHANGED HUMAN VALUE
Society is different since the Jesus of Christmas was born. This has had an enormous impact on us today. How so?
I have a story.
A while back, a business owner harmed my son, his pregnant wife, and son. The long story in one sentence is: the company hired him, laid him off after eight days and the owner challenged my son’s unemployment claiming he never hired him and he was never an employee, and demanded what was paid to be repaid.
Unbelievable!
This caused a great deal of emotional and financial distress in my son and his family’s life.
It made me so angry I wanted to do something awful.
Evil thoughts came into my head. But I didn’t act on them.
Why?
Have you ever been so angry with someone you felt like you wanted to kill them or used the terminology I’m gonna kill you?
Of course, you have.
Did you kill them?
No, of course, you didn’t.
Again, why?
Because human life is valuable.
How does this relate to Christmas?
It was the Jesus of Christmas that revealed the enormous value of human life as not seen before.
HOW CHRISTMAS CHANGED HUMANITY INTRODUCING LOVE
Jesus of Nazareth had radical ideas for his time. One of his ideas was a different way to think, see, and live. He treated his fellow man with deep compassion. He told people to love their enemies. He introduced the world to a new view of God, one that invited intimacy.
The religious leaders of that day hated this and plotted to kill him for it.
Kill, as in dead, not a figure of speech blurted in anger.
- Seriously? Wasn’t murder against the law they promoted?
- Why would the religious people act in such a hedonistic, violent way?
Have you ever heard the story of Cain and Abel?
- Cain killed his brother Able without any remorse.
- Then the murderous Cain, established the first civilization.
This thing called civilization followed the ways of Cain. People were horrifically and unapologetically brutal. History tells us of men like Alexander the Great, Pharaoh, Julius Caesar and Ramesses the Great.
Civilization advanced by treading upon the corpses of those who were “not us” and “not on our side. – Brian Zahnd – Farewell to Mars
We think we comprehend their brutality equating it with war. But even in war we now have rules, AND, did you know that during WWI there was a cease-fire of sorts because of Christmas?
At the first light of dawn on Christmas Day, some German soldiers emerged from their trenches and approached the Allied lines across no-man’s-land, calling out “Merry Christmas” in their enemies’ native tongues. At first, the Allied soldiers feared it was a trick, but seeing the Germans unarmed they climbed out of their trenches and shook hands with the enemy soldiers. The men exchanged presents of cigarettes and plum puddings and sang carols and songs. Some Germans lit Christmas trees around their trenches, and there was even a documented case of soldiers from opposing sides playing a good-natured game of soccer. German Lieutenant Kurt Zehmisch recalled: “How marvelously wonderful, yet how strange it was. The English officers felt the same way about it. Thus Christmas, the celebration of Love, managed to bring mortal enemies together as friends for a time.” (Emphasis mine)
The birth and life of the Jesus of Christmas is a historical fact and his story changed our world.
- The story of the birth of one called Jesus, the Messiah, the Christ, is a story of a miracle.
- It is the story of a benevolent God coming to the earth wearing a human body by supernaturally impregnating a young virgin.
- It is the story of a birth in a foreign place, in a dirty space because they had to travel to appease those in control, to pay taxes.
- It is the story of a birth announcement coming to the lower caste in society, the shepherds out in the field pulling the night shift.
- It is the story of astrologers (some call kings) who followed a certain star to find the king of the Jews so they could worship him.
- It is the story of the political king (Herod) who in his maniacal thirst for power murdered all the boy children two years old and younger in an attempt to kill Jesus, just like Cain killed Abel.
The purpose of Christmas continued to change the world as Jesus grew up, spread his ideas and demonstrated what he said, before laying down His life in the ultimate demonstration of how valuable God considered humanity.
The Jesus of Christmas elevated the value of the poor, the sick, the weak, the outcast, the marginalized, and the victimized.
Before Christmas, there was no such thing as human rights.
HOW CHRISTMAS CHANGED HUMAN RIGHTS
Compassion was born in people’s hearts because they saw it on display in the life of Jesus. This is how Christmas changed the hearts of people to care for others.
Yes, there are still those who tread on the corpses of others for their own gain and power just like Cain. For example, human trafficking.
But now humanity does not take it lightly.
- Unremorseful murder is not tolerated.
- Psychopaths and criminals are put in jail.
- Awful things are called atrocities.
We call it wrong. We want to stop it.
We see the value in each other.
We want to be loved and love others well also because we know it’s possible.
Before Christmas, there were no:
- Hospitals
- Orphanages
- Relief for the poor
- Homeless shelters
- Mission trips
- Boys Town
- Peace Corps
- Unicef
- Salvation Army
- Gofundme
Or the other countless ways mankind has innovated to help one another.
Because of Christmas, humanity at large is now capable of a love, a mercy and a grace that had been missing.
Compassion was born on Christmas day in the body of the Jesus of Christmas and changed our world forever.
WHAT NEXT
- Please download this poem Compassion Was Born as my gift to you, no email required.
- Christmas, at its core, says you matter.
- Get the book Farewell to Mars (affiliate link) here
- Share your thoughts in the comments.
