A striking Christmas card was once published with the title “If Christ Had Not Come.” It was founded upon our Saviour’s words, “If I had not come …”, in John 15:22. The card represented a pastor’s fallinginto a short sleep in his study on Christmas morning and dreaming of a world into which Jesus had never come.
In his dream he found himself looking through his home, but there were no bells, or candles, or wreaths of holly. He walked out into the street and found no church with its spire pointing to Heaven. He came back in and sat down in his library, but every book about the Saviour had disappeared from the shelves.
A knock at the door brought a request for him to visit a poor, dying mother. He hastened, and as he reached her bedside, he sat down and said, “I have something to read that will comfort you. “He opened his Bible to share some familiar promises, but the Book ended with Malachi. There was no Gospel and no promise of hope and salvation. He could only bow his head and weep with her in hopeless desperation.
Two days later, he stood beside her coffin and conducted this mother’s funeral, but there was no message of comfort, no words of a glorious resurrection, and no thought of a mansion awaiting her in Heaven. There was only “dust to dust, ashes to ashes,” and one long, final farewell. In his dream, he burst into tears and bitter weeping.
Suddenly, nearby music woke him from his sleep. A great shout of joy burst from his lips when he realized he was hearing the choir in his church next door singing:
O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem!
Come and behold Him, born the King of angels:
O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord
Had Christ not come, we would have no New Testament, no Gospel, no church, no Lord’s Day, no repentance, no forgiveness of sins, no changed and transformed born-again hearts, no hope of eternal life.
Let us be glad and rejoice because Christ has come. Let us remember the proclamation of the angel, “…I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).
Christ’s coming is meant to be for all the people in the world. We are called to communicate the message of the angels to all people so that they can enter into and enjoy the Good News of great joy. During this Christmas season, may our hearts go out to all those in the world who have no understanding of Christ’s coming.
“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1: 15).
The Gospel Standard