“JESUS LOVES IT WHEN WE CELEBRATE HIS BIRTH”
By: Rev. Dan Minor
“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest …” – Luke 2:13,14 (King James Version)
Jesus loves it when we celebrate His birth because it brings glory to His holy name. At His birth, the angels sang a song of glory to God. We should too!
More than anything else, God wants us to praise Him. The Psalmist said, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord” (Psalm 150:6). Praise ushers us into the very presence of God (Psalm 100:4, 5).
We celebrate His birth with worship, office parties, family gatherings and food. We celebrate with Christmas trees, gifts, wreaths and other decorations, music, children’s plays, lighting of candles and the proclamation of God’s Word.
The Hebrew word for glory comes from a root word meaning heavy, weighty or important. In other words, giving God glory celebrates His significance in our lives. We glorify God with our good deeds (Matthew 5:16), our bodies (I Corinthians 6:19-20), and our tithes and offerings (Malachi 3:10). In fact everything we do should reflect God’s glory (Colossians 3:17).
George Frederick Handel composed the magnificent oratorio called “Messiah” during a low time in his life. A man named Charles Jennens gave him the words to a new sacred piece of music and asked Handel to put music to it. The words describing Christ’s feelings of being despised and rejected resonated with him and the music began to flow. What happened to him? He experienced Christmas. Glorifying God is a life-changing experience. May we do it often!
Prayer
Dear Lord, we will glorify Your name forever. Amen.
