Christmas Is Personal

As we consider the accounts of the birth of Christ, recorded bya the Gospel writers, one thing becomes evident. There were more people involved than just Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus. Just to mention a few, there were the Wise men from the East, Herod, who was ruling over Jerusalem when the Wise men came, and of course, the religionists who told them that Jesus had been born in Bethlehem. These were mentioned in Matthews account. Luke, on the other hand tells us of the shepherds that were tending their sheep out in the fields when they heard the voice of an Angel proclaiming the "good news of great joy". A few days later, when Jesus was taken to be circumcised, we see a man named Simeon, who had been waiting for the coming Messiah and now, having seen Him, was ready to die. There was also a widow, named Anna, that had been serving in the Temple since her husband had died, that rejoiced when she saw Jesus.
As we think of all of these, and others, one thing we notice is that each one responded differently to the news of Jesus' birth. The shepherds were frightened by the Angel, while the Wise men became curious when they saw His star in the East. Herod became concerned about the news of a rival King being born and eventually began killing innocent babies to protect himself. Simeon and Anna were near the end of their lives and were ecstatic over the opportunity to see the Messiah with their own eyes. Sadly, those in Jerusalem, who knew of the place of Jesus birth, appeared to have no interest in it at all. My point is very simple. As we consider the news of the birth of Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, we will react differently because we are all unique individuals. One thing that we have in common is the fact that we will all stand accountable for the message that we do hear. You see, Christmas really is personal.