As the world seems to pause from its busy, hectic everyday life every time around this time of year- to pause and pay homage to Christ who was born in a manger, we hear the Christmas songs we love to sing and hear. Those carols which proclaim love for the infant King wrapped in swaddling clothes. We hear messages of peace and hope. We start to feel the Christmas spirit. This is the true meaning of Christmas, or is it?

The hymns of Christmas have, and will always be near and dear to my heart. One particular Christmas hymn joyously proclaims to the world:

Joy to the world, the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King!
Let ev’ry heart prepare him room,
And Saints and angels sing,
And Saints and angels sing,
And Saints, and Saints and angels sing.

In a short 6 months time from now, we will be singing praise to our risen Lord as we commemorate Easter. The joyous hymn proclaims to the world:

Christ the Lord is ris’n today,
Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say,
Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high,
Alleluia!
Sing, ye heav’ns, and earth reply,
Alleluia!

Each hymn is jubilant in proclaiming it's respective seasonal message. But what if we changed a few words in the hymn? What message would they proclaim then?

Joy to the world, the Lord is risen;
Let earth receive her King!
Let ev’ry heart prepare him room,
And Saints and angels sing,
And Saints and angels sing,
And Saints, and Saints and angels sing.

And:

Christ the Lord is born today,
Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say,
Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high,
Alleluia!
Sing, ye heav’ns, and earth reply,
Alleluia!

They both proclaim the same message! I believe that, while the manager and Gethsemane are very important in our lives, if we simplify it down to the most common denominator, we will find that the true meaning of Christmas is fulfillment in our Heavenly Father's plan for us, His children and that our Heavenly Father, who loves us all and shows us that He keeps His promises.

And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first. (Abraham 3:27)

Our elder brother, Jesus Christ was sent by His Father, our Heavenly Father to come to this earth to obtain a body, just as we do also. Obtaining a body is one of the most important things that were a result of that plan. We are taught that we have been given these bodies to "master" so that we can fully have control over them. Satan and his followers have been denied this, and this is why they use things such as media, sex, pornagraphy, etc to tempt us. We need to overcome those things by becoming master of the tabernacles of flesh we have been given. 

Jesus Christ is the reason for the seasons! He had to come down to taste mortality, even though he was the most perfect to walk the earth. His earthly mission was, in essence, to bring to the remembrance to the people of why they are on this earth, where they came fron, and where they will go after they have passed from this earth. Some listened (hearkened) to His message, while many rejected the message. It is the very same message that prophets, apostles, and missionaries declare today. And just as then, some hearken to the message while many reject it.

A very common line of thinking says:

Without the manager, there could be no Gethsemane.

I believe this so very much. Just as we say that Jesus Christ is the reason for the season, we can also say that Jesus Christ is the reason for our very existence! Without Jesus Christ coming down to earth as a newborn babe, learning as He got older, finding and understanding His true purpose on this earth, being subjected to all manner of hardships, and ultimately being put to death, ironically by those same people who, like all of us raised our hands in support of the plan presented by our Heavenly Father.; without all of that, our spiritual lives would have no purpose. His mission was to fulfill His Father's will and His plan, and to see that we know and understand our Heavenly Father's love for all of us:

I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and  gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.

For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
 (John 17:6-9)

So, this Christmas as we "repeat the sounding joy" and at Easter as we proclaim, "lives again, our glorious King", let us remember that everything we do is in fulfillment of the plan of happiness that we, long ago agreed upon - that we undoubtedly were with the hosts of God proclaiming "Glory to God on the Highest and on earth peace, goodwill towards men". May we honor these words with our lives of service and to bringing to remembrance of those of why we are here, where we came from and where we are going.
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