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The story of the Nativity does not find its end at birth. As every birth before it, and each one since, it is the miraculous beginning to an even grander story. We must not miss the immeasurable treasure of God’s scandalous choice to become one of us. And the event of Jesus’ birth and narrative which precedes and shortly follows it are surely worth celebrating. But it is only when we connect God’s choice with its ultimate purpose, that the true weight of the treasure can be measured.

The Christmas story should never be confined to Bethlehem. The people, places and events interwoven with the miracle of His birth should only be the opening chapter in our telling. Would it be sufficient to only tell the story of the days and weeks surrounding your own birth? Certainly not. It is what God does in and through us during the full measure of our lives which defines the treasure we are to Him and to those we were born to love and serve. It is even more so with the birth of Jesus.

In eternity past, before God’s first breath of creation, He authored a plan. In a way that I can’t even begin to comprehend, God knew we would reject Him even before He created us. He loved us so much, even then, that instead of deciding against creating us, He chose to sacrifice everything in order to redeem us. There was one thing He couldn’t bear the thought of more than separation from His Son (who was everything to Him) … eternal separation from you and me.

So, God decided his Son would become one us for the sole purpose of saving us. He sent that message with the angel Gabriel to speak into a dark and lonely night and the heart of a simple carpenter in Nazareth.

Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.
Matthew 1:20b-21 (ESV)

The angel (in my words of paraphrase) speaks to Joseph … “Fear not, Joseph. The young woman you just married, who is now pregnant by a way which confounds and deeply troubles you, has actually been touched by the Holy Spirit itself and will give birth to a precious infant boy with five fingers and toes and who also is the Son of the living God.” But that’s just half the message. It would have been wholly incomplete for Gabriel to announce that God himself was coming to earth to live among us. God calms and reassures Joseph, but he also declares — declares His divine intention and purpose in sending Jesus to be born as a fully human baby boy who is destined to be the Savior of the world.

The story of Christmas is not fully understood unless it is told from cradle to grave (and beyond). There is an improper finality suggested when we tell, sing and celebrate Jesus’ birth as an O holy night. Standing alone, it is a story of immeasurable worth and glad tidings … God has become one of us! But told absent the cross, tomb and resurrection, it stops short of the fullness of its hope. The miracle of Jesus’ birth must be celebrated alongside the deep sorrow in His suffering and death. The shouts of joy and praise over His coming must find chorus with those of His resurrection from the dead! Jesus, our Savior! Oh, come let us adore Him. Unto us, He has been born!