Even if one forgoes the more religious aspects of Jesus Christ, there is no denying that his birth forever changed the world. With the entire buzz about shopping, and Santa, and the politically correct “holidays,” the impact of Jesus Christ seems to be lost.
The birth of Christ started one of the world’s greatest religions. The entire staff of VUI are guilty of at least professing a belief in Christianity. However, as stated before, take away the religious aspect, and there is still an incredible story.
A boy was born in what we call a barn. That is what a manger was. It was a barn. There were livestock placed in there. The boy’s mother was denied a room in a comfortable inn, even though she was in labor pains. They put her and her party in the barn out back. Those who put the laboring mother in the barn blamed the government, because the government of the time was holding a census, and that caused many to fill the inns of the day as they returned to their hometowns to be counted.
That was perhaps the best example of the life lesson that you never really know who you are dealing with. Someone might appear poor, dirty and broken before you, but you really never know who they are. If you treat them with little respect, you might go down in history as the man who denied the son of God a proper place to be born. It was also a lesson about how big government can infringe upon the comfort of even the likes of God’s only begotten son.
Indeed, humanity’s business and government of the time was oblivious of the important event that was about to happen in Bethlehem. The government was worried about its census and its taxes. The businessman was worried about his paying guests. One has to wonder what was going through that innkeeper’s mind when those respected wise men arrived at the barn out back. That innkeeper is not alone in history. Time and time again, people that acted “professionally” did not know the greatness in front of them.
The event that the innkeeper and the government were oblivious to forever changed human history. In that barn was born a baby boy. That baby boy would grow up to teach lessons that created a major religion and provided the basis for the ideals of Western democracy and human rights. The wealthy and the powerful found humility in the teachings of that baby boy. The poor and the powerless found dignity and hope yet unseen in the world. Great works of art and literature were created upon the words and acts of that little boy born in a barn.
A couple of thousand of years later, humanity has not improved much. Chances are a poor single mother seeking help from business or big government in her hour of birth pangs would be treated the same way. The innkeeper would demand a credit card for deposit on the room. Government would come in and offer assistance, but such assistance would come with strings attached. Chances are the Department of Social Services would take the Christ child into custody, and make Mary take parenting classes to prove she was worthy of custody. Incomes of Mary and the baby’s step father, Joseph, would be taken into account. Both would have criminal background checks.
Perhaps that is the beauty of the story of the birth of Christ, and God’s lesson to us all. In the birth story of Christ, we are reminded that humanity’s most treasured institutions, government and commerce, can be blinded by their seemingly logical approach to situations to the point in which they miss one of humanity’s greatest events. Further, the story of the birth of Christ reminds us all, as human beings, to respect our fellow human beings, for we never know who among the least among us will rise to be among the greatest when their time comes. Further, it is perhaps the kindness a man we consider a bum shows to a child that will lead that child to find greatness. It is perhaps the rudeness of what we consider an upstanding citizen to a child or another that will create a monster.
The birth of Christ presented a radical thought to the world. His birth and His teachings forced humanity to think of treating what we perceive the least among us with care and respect. Through the story of His birth, through His teachings, and even in the story of the moments before His death on the cross, Jesus Christ taught humanity that those who we consider the least and the worst among us can redeem themselves and rise up to serve and love their fellow human beings. The story of Christ is perhaps the most hopeful story ever told.
That hopeful story is something to keep in mind if you encounter some politically correct person who seems angry that Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. You will never win them over on the religious arguments. Most of the politically correct crowd made that choice long ago. However, the hope of redemption and uplifting that the story of Christ gives us is alone reason enough for people to celebrate Christmas as honoring the birth of Jesus Christ without apology to anyone. Those who see otherwise have a particularly craven way of looking at life.
