What Christmas means to me

Christmas is fast approaching, but this year, I’m experiencing the holiday differently than usual. You see, my mother has just entered hospice care. As I write these words, I have no idea how much time Mom has left. It could be a matter of hours, days, or even weeks. I’m in contact with my travel agent so that when I get the call that the time has come, I can hop on the next available plane across the Atlantic—not an easy task, considering we’re in the midst of the holiday season.

Curiously, these events haven’t dampened my Christmas spirit but have given the holiday a deeper meaning instead. The implications of the birth, life, and death of Jesus Christ fill me with hope, peace, and—yes—joy despite the sadness. I want to share the reason why Christmas changes my perspective on Mom’s situation—and everything else.

We all know the Christmas story when the angels appeared to the shepherds and announced, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors.” ⁽¹⁾ What peace were they talking about? Let’s be honest. We haven’t seen much peace on earth in the two thousand years since the angels’ declaration.

Although there is still a future time when Christ will bring complete peace to our planet, the angels were primarily referring to peace with God. By this, I mean a restoration of the relationship between God and mankind that had been broken because of sin. We can be reunited with our Creator. What an incredible promise!

Knowing that Mom has been reconciled to God thanks to her faith in Jesus dramatically impacts how I view her slow march toward death. I know where she is going—straight into the arms of her Lord. Death only brings an end to the first act of our existence. It’s a door that ushers us into eternity. Therefore, I have no reason to fear or fall into despair.

This assurance isn’t based on anything Mom has done. She’s a godly woman, but like each of us, she isn’t flawless. No one can earn their way to God by good works. This is precisely why Jesus had to pay the penalty for sin in our place. After all, why go through all that torment if we could earn salvation by ourselves?

Jesus has promised eternal life—life with God—to all those who admit their sinfulness and trust that Jesus is the only Savior. Mom took that step at a summer camp while in her teens, and her life has borne witness to her faith.

The peace that I feel in the face of death doesn’t take away the sadness, of course. We still go through grief and mourning when our loved ones pass away. Premature deaths, especially, can lead to anger and many unanswered questions. Nonetheless, looking at our mortality from the point of view of eternity and God’s promises changes everything.

You may wonder how I can be so sure. The answer could fill the pages of books, but I’ll briefly share three reasons. Firstly, the world around us points to a Creator. The intricacy of our universe and of even the simplest cell declares the existence of someone who designed it all. ⁽²⁾ Secondly, the Bible is the most reliable source of truth about reality. Archeological discoveries and fulfilled prophecies confirm its trustworthiness. ⁽³⁾ And thirdly, God changes lives. Countless people, including myself, can testify to his influence and actions, which could only be of divine origin.

This doesn’t mean that I’ve never had doubts. I’m sure everyone struggles with questions and uncertainties. Faith doesn’t mean an absence of doubts. Instead, faith does mean that when faced with questions we can’t answer, we decide that we’ve seen enough evidence to trust God anyway, and we choose to believe what he’s promised.

Thanks to those promises, no matter what happens to Mom, I know she’s secure in God’s arms, which is something I can celebrate this Christmas.

⁽¹⁾ Luke 2:13-14

⁽²⁾  An excellent book on evidence for a Creator is Return of the God Hypothesis: Three Scientific Discoveries That Reveal the Mind Behind the Universe by Stephen C. Meyer, published by HarperOne.

⁽³⁾  An excellent book on the reliability of Scripture is 7 Reasons Why You Can Trust the Bible by Erwin Lutzer, published by Moody Publishers.