“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
Luke 2:14

Christmas is a festive time of the year. Whether you are a Christian or not, this holiday is celebrated with a wide variety of customs, rituals, and folklore. We can get caught up in the atmosphere of Christmas and forget its true meaning. As Christians, how should we be celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ? Christmas serves as a reminder of how we should live the rest of the year. Jesus came into this world to do three things: turn glory, give goodwill, and establish peace. Christmas is a time to reflect and follow in Jesus’ footsteps. It’s the time to highlight and bring to fruition glory, goodwill, and peace. To accomplish these three things, we do two things: love and make sacrifices.

JESUS CAME TO THIS WORLD TO TURN GLORY. 

“Glory to God in the highest…” The “highest” refers to the physical churches of the world and the spiritual church inside of us. We must fill these “high” places with God’s glory. Everything we do in life should be for the glory of God. We must glorify God in our everyday lives, and through us, we make the invisible God visible to others. Turn glory to God in every aspect of your life! Turn glory to God in your family, workplace, and society. Christmas is the time to remind ourselves we should be doing this all year round. 

JESUS CAME TO THIS WORLD TO SHOW GOODWILL. 

Second, we must show goodwill to others. Don’t subtract happiness from others or fill them with evil. Don’t be stingy with generosity. Work nonstop on building a sturdy foundation of happiness and extend this goodwill to others. Be good to others! We live in a time of hate and division. Take this opportunity to show goodwill. To put it simply, Jesus came to this world to make others happy, to give them joy. Your world may consist of just you and your partner. If so, the spirit of Christmas means bringing joy to that one person. Wherever you are, whatever circumstances you find yourself in, bring joy and happiness.

JESUS CAME TO THIS WORLD TO SEEK PEACE.  

Third, seek peace. If you make the others around you happy and show goodwill, the collection of these people will be peaceful. If you make those around you unhappy, you will never find peace in your life. In whatever situation, don’t be the person who sows the seeds of division and discord. Don’t be the person who alienates and attacks.  In our families, workplace, and society, function as the piece that brings peace to the entire puzzle. The key to brining peace is doing the two things mentioned above: turn glory to God and bring happiness to others. If you bring people from all different parts of life, who come with different stories and backgrounds, you achieve peace if all of them turn glory to God and show goodwill to others.

To turn glory to God, extend goodwill, and seek peace, we must do two things: we must love, and we must make sacrifices. Without love and sacrifices, we can never turn glory to God. We can never fill others with happiness. And, we can never bring peace, only discord. We can bear the fruit of glory, goodwill, and peace only through love and sacrifice. Jesus loved us and sacrificed Himself for us. We must do the same. Loving each other and making sacrifices are things we can do right now. We don’t need Christmas to do these things. We should love at all cost. We should make sacrifices for others. How long has your life been only about you? How much have you loved, and how much have you sacrificed this year? Can you do better? However hard it may be, love and make sacrifices.

Instead of focusing on the festivities and celebrations, we must remember the true meaning of Christmas. Jesus came to this world to turn glory to God, show goodwill, and seek peace. He did these things through love and sacrifice. We must live like this all year round, but Christmas is a good time to accentuate this! Let’s make this Christmas a turning point. Let Christmas be the beginning of our new lives where we show goodwill, turn glory to God, and promote peace through our love and sacrifices.