The Grahams have a special way of delivering the Christmas message. Though the story of Jesus’ birth is thousands of years old, Billy and Ruth bring it to life. They remind us why that night in Bethlehem was so special.
A Glorious Reality
Christmas is not a myth, not a tradition, not a dream. It is a glorious reality. It is a time of joy. Bethlehem’s manger crib became the link that bound a lost world to a loving God. From that manger came a Man who not only taught us a new way of life, but brought us into a new relationship with our Creator. Christmas means that God is interested in the affairs of people, that God loves us so much that He was willing to give His Son.
from “Day-by-Day with Billy Graham” by Billy Graham
God’s Christmas Gift
I don’t really envy the people who lived in Bethlehem that night, even though many of them must have seen Jesus and Mary and Joseph with their own eyes. For they couldn’t have known all that they were seeing.
They couldn’t know all that this Baby was born to do: the words of joy He would speak to an unhappy world, the love He would show to people too used to hatred, the victory He would win over the sin and sorrow of the world.
You and I are greatly blessed to live now, when His work of love is finished. He is as close to us today as He was to the children of Bethlehem. Closer, for today we do not even have to reach out our hands to touch Him.
If we are really sorry for our sins, we can come to Him just as truly as those shepherds did in Bethlehem. And He will forgive us and give back to us that joyous fellowship with God – lost so long ago in the Garden of Eden. This is the Christmas gift that God gives to me and to everyone on earth.
