A Tract Inviting Faith in Jesus the Christ

Jesus’ birth is something of a trademark for traditional Christmas paraphernalia. The three wise men, the bewildered shepherds, the guiding star, the angels’ outburst of song and of course, the newborn Jesus with his mother Mary and her husband Joseph are all familiar parts of the picture.

In the narrative it is the angels who speak meaning into what this is all about (Luke 2:1-20; Matthew 1:18-2:12). The song they sung was a short burst of praise to God for the most momentous moment in all of history: the Son of God became a mortal man, to accomplish God’s great purposes.

They sang: “Glory to God in heaven above, and on earth peace to those with whom he is pleased!”

In the birth of Jesus the eternal ‘Son of God’ entered the world as a finite man, and set out to do the will of the Father to get two great things: glory for God and peace for mankind – to those who please him, that is. The peace that Jesus gives is peace with God. It is just like the great Christmas carol:

Hark the herald angels sing

Glory to the newborn King!

Peace on earth and mercy mild

God and sinners reconciled.

This peace is only given to those who please God. People may try to please God in many different ways, but the crucial thing to get right is to honor Jesus – to believe he is who he said he is, & to live your life as if it belonged to him rather than yourself. If you don’t get that right, nothing you do will be pleasing to God and you will not have peace with him.

The angels also announced that Jesus’ birth would be glory for God. In Jesus, God offers amnesty to us all and because of that he is a glorious God. If we can see Jesus for who he really is and place him at the center of our lives rather than ourselves or any other worthy thing, then we give glory to God by our lives also.

Our response ought to be like the shepherds after they saw the newborn Jesus (Luke 2:20). They glorified and praised God for everything they had heard and seen.

We should do likewise.

You have heard about Jesus (a little, anyway), and even though you haven’t seen him, you can believe in him.

If you will, then aim to give glory to God, and to do it not simply with your lips but also with your life, lived in gratitude to God who is the Giver of peace-with-him through Jesus.

This is the greatest gift there is to be had, given on the first Christmas there ever was.

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