My beloved wife, Sangeetha and I were talking about the qualities in which we would like our much loved son, Reuben, to grow up with and to, and she expressed that more than Reuben being the smartest or the fastest, she certainly would like him to have two qualities; Humility and a “Never Give Up” attitude i.e., Persistence. As we discussed, I realized that the answer to the question “Why we have Christmas?” was hidden in our conversation. The very essence of Christmas is reflective of these two qualities; The Humility of God and the Persistence of God.
God never gave up on man, despite man’s (yours and mine) unfaithfulness and rebellion. God so loved the world (you and me) that He gave us His Son (John 3:16), Jesus Christ who humbled Himself by giving up His rights of Divinity for the restraints of humanity, and was born in a manger. Jesus’ Persistence and Humility is furthermore evident even unto the point of death, even death on a Cross (Philippians 2). In the manger, the Cross overshadowed the cradle because God is a Never-Giving-Up God.
Points to Ponder
If and only if God had “given up” on mankind, we would have never had Christmas.
God never gives up on you or me!
