Don't miss out on this Christmas!

Are you celebrating Christmas today? Make sure you don't miss out on the big event! As I read the Bible yesterday, I could think of three different groups of people who missed out on the first Christmas although they had the invitations for the same right at their door step.

1. King Herod : The Bible says that the wise men saw a star in the night sky which symbolized the birth of Jesus. They immediately started out on the journey to see the new born babe. While on their way, they stopped at the king's place to enquire about the birth of Jesus. They asked the king, 

"Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

The Bible tells us that on hearing these words, the king was troubled. Instead of rejoicing over the 'Good News', he sought to kill the Child. He secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared and said to them,

"Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also."

But the wise men were divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod after seeing Jesus. So they departed to their country in another way. The wise men, therefore,never reported back to the king. Because of his evil intentions, Herod missed out on the first Christmas.

2.Chief priests and scribes : When the wise men enquired the king about the birth of Jesus, the king called the chief priests and scribes together and inquired where Christ was to be born. They said to him,

"In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet :

'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

 Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;

 For out of you shall come a Ruler

 Who will shepherd My people Israel.'"

 These chief priests and scribes were those who knew the Bible inside out. They knew when and where Christ would be born. They were the ones who confirmed the words of the wise men to the King.But they did not make an effort to go and see Jesus and worship Him in the manger. They were careless and were not bothered about the 'Good News'. Because of this attitude of theirs, they missed out on the first Christmas.

3.Inn keeper : Joseph and Mary had traveled all the way from Nazerath to Bethlehem for the census and it was time for Mary to give birth to Jesus. The Bible tells us that when they searched for a room, they had no room in the inn. If only the inn keeper had known that Mary was going to give birth to the Savior of the world, he would have somehow managed to arrange a room for them. If only he had managed to provide them a room, his guestbook would have had a page written,"Best wishes. With love, Jesus." How wonderful that would have been! How much of fame he and his inn would have received! Because of his ignorance, the inn keeper missed out on the first Christmas.

All the people above had the opportunity to be a part of the celebrations on the first Christmas night. But they all missed it. They all missed the opportunity to see Jesus, to worship Him and to experience His love and peace. We see that in all their cases, it was a choice that they had made. They chose to remain the way they were.Today, most of us find ourselves in one of the three categories mentioned above. We may be like King Herod who chose not to participate in the celebrations because of His stone-heartedness and refused to break free from it.Are you someone who has heard about the love and mercy of Jesus but is not ready to accept it whole-heartedly? You are then,like King Herod. The chief priests had learnt everything in the Bible by-heart but never chose to impplement it in their lives. Are you a Christian born and brought up in a Christian family, reading the Bible every morning and saying a hurried name-sake prayer? Do you celebrate Christmas by going to church just because your parents want you to go? Is it just a family tradition according to you?Then you are just like the chief priests. The innkeeper chose to remain ignorant. Do you belong to this third category, where you have never heard of Jesus and His love. Then here goes the  'Good News' my friend. 'Jesus came to this Earth on this beautiful Christmas day to give you a new life full of joy and peace. He died on the Cross for your sins so that you can reign with Him forever in Heaven.' Now that you know the good news, you cannot be ignorant like the inn keeper any more.

I do not know which category you belong to. But all that I can tell you is that no matter which category you find yourself in right now, you need a change. And you can receive that change if you choose to accept the 'Good News' on this Christmas day. Unlike King Herod, the chief priests and the inn keeper, the wisemen and the shepherds chose to accept the invitation they received to be a part of the first Christmas.Now it is your turn. The initation to meet with Jesus is for you and me today. The wisemen and the shepherds had to travel a long distance in order to meet with Jesus on Christmas. But today, you needn't travel that far. You needn't go in search of Him. He is right at the doors of your heart. All you need to do is to open your heart and welcome Him on this Christmas day.

So what are you waiting for? Make sure that you don't miss out on this Christmas. I pray that the Jesus who was born on earth over 2000 years ago will be born in your hearts on this day. Have a Christ-centered Christmas!