Christmas is a time when we get together with our loved ones. We spend a lot of time at Christmas with our family and even doing things for our family.
When Jesus was born we all know that Mary did a lot of important things when it came to the birth of Jesus. But, did you realize that Joseph did a very important part as well. You see it was Joseph that the angel came and told to take Mary his wife and take her to a safe place for her to have her baby.
Matthew 2:13–14
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”
14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt,
When you are by yourself, you are easily broken, however if you are together as a family then you are not easily broken.
Your family does not stop there. In the Bible many times we are called brother and sisters. That does not mean that we are blood related, but we are a part of God's family. This means that friends and church are important as well. It is important to surround ourselves with friends and church family.
Ephesians 2:19
19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
It is important that as we get things ready for Christmas that we are not fighting amongst our family. As we get our house decorated and our Christmas Tree decorated we need to come together as family.
When my kids were young we purposely decorated our tree with stringed popcorn. We did not do it because we thought it was pretty, but we did it because our family want to participate in something that we did together and I believe that made us stronger.
Jesus is a perfect family member. Before he died for us we would have to go to God and make sacrifices and there were certain times when people were struck dead because of not doing right. However when Jesus came to earth and was born in Bethlehem we had someone that could go between us and God and gift our sins removed.
So let's talk a moment about the tree that has been decorated.
1. Christmas Tree
We choose and evergreen tree because while everything else is dying in the winter time this tree remains green
Jesus loved us so much that He hung on a tree that we might have life if we choose. When Jesus hung on that tree while sin was causing everyone are to dry up and die the life that Jesus gave (if we accept) means that we will live on even after we leave earth.
2. Lights
The light that are on this tree remind me that there is a light that can outshine the darkness. When a tree killed our savior the light that was shone through his death was and is bright through his death.
3. Gifts
The gift that are under the tree remind me of the gifts that the wise men brought to Jesus. They brought gold, frankincense and myrrh. They fell down and worshipped Jesus and gave their gifts to Him.
It is also a reminder of the first gift that was ever given. That was the gift that God sent His son to die upon a cross for everyone. The gift was not money, power, or wealth, but it was a King that would die for us.