Last December 8, 2023, we conducted a Christmas party fellowship with students from a particular university in Bacolod City, Philippines. The aforesaid city is where I am are currently residing in. We praised God for His hand of blessing in the event and all the souls that He ushered for this Christmas party fellowship.
We answered ice-breaker questions as we waited for others and for us to be more comfortable and at ease with each other. After that, we sang songs to celebrate the incarnation of our Savior King Jesus Christ; the Word made flesh. Most importantly, we listened to the preaching of His word through the assistant pastor of our local church. He preached on Isaiah 9 and focused on the prophecy in Isaiah 9:6. We also fellowshipped with each other over lunch. There was also the sharing of realizations and reflections by the students regarding the passage that we listened to after lunch. It was just so awe-stirring because everyone had the opportunity to share about Jesus Christ. After that, there were games prepared for the students. It was so fun to watch that the students really enjoyed that part of the program. After that, we listened to a testimony from an alumni of the university. It was also encouraging to all of us because the alumni mention that the campus bible fellowship really molded him as a more effective Christian. The evangelism, discipleship, and leadership opportunities through the campus bible fellowship really impacted him in preparation for future ministries. After this, we encouraged the students to read 1 chapter of the gospel of John everyday in line of being soaked with what Christ did in behalf of rebellious creatures that they might have eternal life by believing in His name. We also encouraged them to share the good news of Jesus Christ through the gospel tracts that we gave them. After all, the saddest Christmas is the Christmas spent without truly realizing in our hearts the reason for this season – that Christ is the best Gift we could ever receive in our lives.
The reason why I entitled this article The Saddest Christmas is because our pastor asked each of us three unobvious facts about ourselves and the saddest Christmas and the happiest Christmas we have experienced. I was struck by their answers for the saddest Christmas part.
Some mentioned that the saddest Christmas was because of the death of loved ones. There was one who mentioned that the saddest Christmas was when there was a typhoon which brought damage to their house. I mentioned that my saddest Christmas was when my sister was hospitalized and when get to spend Christmas on the hospital as we waited for her to recover. If you try to reflect on this question, what would be your saddest Christmas? As we come to think, the sadness we experience over death of loved ones, natural disasters, suffering in all shapes and forms, and even poverty could never equal to the sadness a person experiences when that person does not have Jesus on this Christmas season. Jesus Christ is our true source of happiness. Each form of happiness is just a mere droplet of rain in comparison to the immense depth of the ocean of Jesus Christ in whose presence is fullness of joy and at His right hand is pleasures forevermore. (Ps. 16:11) Each form of sadness is light and momentary in comparison to Jesus Christ who makes all forms of sadness fade away in light of His awe-stirring beauty and heart-melting glorious saving work on the cross. For Christians, even if we have nothing, as long as we have Christ, we have everything because Christ is our everything. The happiness and sadness that this world offers are circumstantial but we have our Governing King Jesus Christ who rules and directs all types of circumstances so that in all things we could say, “It’s all for our eternal good (Rom. 8:28) and His eternal glory. (Rom. 11:36)”
Dear friends, the saddest Christmas is the Christmas that is spent not genuinely knowing who Christ is. Yes, Jesus was born in a manger. Yes, we celebrate His birth in this season. But that beautiful story doesn’t end there. He was also the baby who was born to die for the sins of His people that He might save them. (Matt. 1:21) He died the death we should have died so that we would escape the wrath of God. He stood in our place on the cross as He bore our sins on His body on the cross. He satisfied the wrath of God as the peace offering for our sins. He also lived the perfect life that we should have lived to give us the gift of perfect righteousness through faith in Christ. He rose on the third day to prove that He is mighty to save us. Eternal life in Christ is made available to all who would turn away from their sins and trust in Him as Lord and Savior. If we have Christ, all Christmases regardless of circumstances will always be happy because Christ is our Happiness. Circumstances could never rob us of this happiness because this Happiness will never let us go and will always hold us fast until we see Him face to face.
We praise God for the food, fellowship, fun, and most especially to be reminded of how glorious Christ is through the word of God. These are but mere foretaste of what God has in stored for us in heaven. Joy will be multiplied a million times more in the presence of Christ. Sin, suffering, sadness, and sickness will be no more. We praise God for blessing every second of the event and all of us who attended. Christmas season is more memorable because of them.
Have a happy Christmas! God bless you always!
By grace alone 