The church and the world are at odds with respect to Christmas. While the world has a huge buildup to Christmas Day and then considers it over, the church does exactly the opposite. For millennia the church has built up to Christmas during the season of Advent in which we anticipate the arrival of Christ both as a babe in a manger and looking ahead to His final and triumphant return when the last day of this weary globe’s history comes to pass. Christmas Day, then begins the Christmas season which then last until the season of Epiphany begins. Therefore, comments on Christmas are still in order.

        As we remember the birth of our Lord, we all have an image etched in our minds of Mary holding her child, as Joseph, the concerned father looks on. Joseph’s love for his beloved Mary has withstood a storm. The Angel Gabriel has announced to Mary that what is to be conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit so that the child to be born to her will be the Son of God. Joseph is the stepfather in this account, who nearly divorces Mary until God provides some inside information that her story is really true.

        Now to our sexually cynical world the entire idea of a virgin birth smacks of absurdity. Indeed, many who have claimed the label of "theologian" have used many and various words to attempt to explain away such an unbelievable claim. It seems we don’t like it when God does something out of the ordinary and outside the framework of that with which we are comfortable. It seems that God is supposed to conform to our expectations of Him. If that is the case, then God hasn’t been very cooperative at any point in human history. The God of the Scriptures always seems to be acting on behalf of humanity in ways that are unexpected, and yes, nearly unbelievable. The virgin birth is no different.

        Before we cavalierly disregard Gabriel’s announcement as "mythology" or an overzealous addition of early Christians to say more about Jesus Christ than was real, please remember that all of theology is tied to the person and nature of Christ. If Jesus is not born of the Holy Spirit, then He is merely a man and cannot be divine. if Jesus is not divine, then it is merely a man who is finally nailed to Golgotha’s cross. If it is only a man who dies, then there is no adequate payment which has been rendered for humanity’s sin. If sin has not been paid for, then it remains our burden to bear and there is no salvation for us. If the wages of sin is death, (as the Scriptures say), then the only thing that lies ahead for us is decay, death, the grave and eternity in hell.

        Indeed, the whole point of the Christian faith is that God wants to be reconciled to His wayward, sinful creatures: "All this if from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them." (II Corinthians 5:18-19)

        Christ was born of Mary and was therefore fully human. Indeed, were He not human then no man would have finally kept the Law perfectly as God demanded of His creatures (Matthew 5:48). God’s absolute justice had to satisfied. The Law had to be kept and Jesus - the second Adam - did it for us.

        Christ was born of the Holy Spirit and was therefore fully God. Indeed, were He not divine, then we are still in our sins for no mere man’s death is adequate payment for his own sin, let alone that of others. The death of the divine one, however, is of such inestimable value that payment for all of mankind’s sins was rendered by His death and is available to everyone who trusts in Christ alone for his salvation.

    So there is much riding on the virgin birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, everything rides on it. Let us not attempt to put God into a box constructed of human expectations and tell Him how He must conduct Himself. If we attempt to do so, we will have managed to destroy the hope that God’s Son died to give us. Thank God He was willing to be born of a virgin, peasant girl.