By Michael Boyd
To explain what Christmas means to me, I must take you back to before the world even existed, back to when the Father and I were discussing our plans for all of eternity and how our creation would fit into it. Our talks centered around the need for a perfect sacrifice to be made so that we could have our children back home with us one day.
Christmas to me represents the day that this sacrificial plan began, the day I chose to leave heaven and become human, the day I started the journey that would lead to a cross. Christmas, you see, is where it all began and, in some ways, where it ended as well—or at least the beginning of the end. All of heaven held its collective breath as we began something that had never been done before. Sure, we had walked on the earth previously, but not as a human being and never with the purpose of presenting ourselves as a sacrifice. I need you to know that we did this because we love you. There is no price too steep to pay to provide the way for you to once again join us for all of eternity.
Christmas represents the day our plan began, but also it represents the day it all ended. It represents not only the day I was born as a human but also the day I hung on that cross for you. Without the one, there could not have been the other. They were and continue to be intricately linked together. My birth and my journey towards death began on that morning so long ago, the one you call Christmas.
Christmas also represents a path filled with pain and frustrations. I would like to say that I was unaware of all that this path held for me, but because of who I am, I was more than aware of what was going to take place. Your ancestors were more than just a little frustrating and, at times, it seemed like they would never understand what I was trying to teach them. Yet there is nothing that I would have done differently. I loved every mile I walked with them and every lesson I was privileged to teach them. I watched them learn their lessons well, as I watch you learning them now.
What does Christmas mean to me? It is the day I gave you my greatest gift, the gift of myself. It also is the day I gave you my gifts of love, forgiveness, peace, patience, eternal life with me, and so much more! But let this day be more than just a gift from me to you, let it become a day in which you gift yourselves to others, giving to them as I have given to you.
Love,
Jesus
This article is available to order as a published tract.