John 1:1-5, 14 and 16 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not...And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth... and of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
	The whole of history is summed up in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega. There is no one or nothing that lived, lives or will live without His creative hand. Our current age’s wisdom, tries to assign Jesus to the simple status of a good man that probably once lived two thousand years ago. This world will credit Him with wisdom and with a life style that is worthy of imitation, but not much more than that. This age has its own ideas of truths and values that are not fully compatible with the teachings of Christ. Rather, it carefully picks and chooses and manipulates to make the best of the teachings of Jesus, the man. This is that darkness of humanity that only the light of God, Jesus Christ can penetrate. Only He can pierce ardently into the pitch-black of the foulest heart, and shine forth livingly in the brightness of His love, joy, and peace in the Holy Spirit.
	Today, we commemorate, as we should each moment, the life of Christ. We mark our calendar in a yearly remembrance of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, a babe wrapped in swaddling clothing, lying in a manger. Yet, I wonder, even for myself, I wonder, if the true weight of the birth of Christ will ever be completely realized in our lifetimes to the glory of God. 
	As we consider this glorious event, one thing is very certain. His earthly birth cannot be separated from His death and resurrection. His birth has no significant meaning without the fulfillment of His death on the cross for us, and the glory of His resurrection. Without the atonement that He purchased for us, there is no purpose in His birth, and let us trace this fact together in light of those words which are so common this season: love, joy and peace.
	The love of God is fully and comprehensively expressed in Jesus Christ. He is the Son of God, the Word, by Whom all things are made. He loved us so much, that He willingly gave up His heavenly position, and was born of a virgin in order to be the living expression of the love of God for each one whose hearts were and will be open to receive Him. Even as He walked on this earth, He gave living expression to the great Love of God. He showed in His daily walk, how God, the Father finds glory in His people. Through it all, we were in His heart. He was speaking and living for us. The Living Word was calling us unto Himself, teaching His way and His Truth, to be recorded by the Holy Spirit for our salvation and for our guidance and for our comfort.
	He brought meaning to the Old Testament, fulfilling the Law, and all the prophesies. He showed the great Love of God to those who were downtrodden, oppressed, outcast, and diseased. He manifested the heart of the Father in gathering together the children and blessing them as He taught them in lovingkindness. He raised the dead, bringing forth earthly life, as He has brought forth spiritual life for those past and for those yet to come, fully including even us. The Old Testament souls were saved by living for the hope of Christ, in the expressed Love of God. We are saved by the death and resurrection, the life of Christ, in Him, the living Love of God.
	Joy enshrined Christ, at His birth. The Heavenly Hosts were singing triumphantly, calling attention to the fact that God was incarnate in this child. He grew in the joy of the Father, always doing that which brought joy to the heart of God. He found joy in studying the Word of God and in praying to the Father. His life was a manifestation of the joy that is ours in Him, as we trust and obey. The Holy Spirit makes known the living joy of the Lord in us today, as He did in Christ, guiding, comforting, and manifesting Himself to the Glory of God on high. 
	Peace was the heralding call of the angelic hosts - Peace on earth. Christ lived to bring peace. Not peace between mankind, but peace between man and God. Where that true peace is established, earthly peace will result. Those at peace with God, in Christ Jesus, cannot but be at peace with others. Even when we are maligned and persecuted, we are at peace because our hearts spring forth with the prayer of Christ Who now indwells us: Father forgive them for they know not what they do. That peace is eternally forged on the cross, and solidified in His glorious resurrection. He is our Peace, as we sing, Who has broken down every wall. There is now no barrier between us and God, in Him. There is no separation from the Love and the Joy that is ours in Him, in Christ Jesus. Everything that was once dead in sin and trespasses, is now alive by virtue of Him living His life out from us. 
	This day, as we celebrate, look beyond the sentimental observances of the birth of Jesus, to the truth of the Word of God manifested in His incarnation. The sum of the eternal purpose of God is evidenced in the totality of the birth, the walk, the death, and the resurrection of Christ. Even as He lives today, seated on the right hand of God the Father, so do we have life, because of the great love with which He so loved us. He gave Himself. The Creator of all, the Word, became flesh in order to livingly express God’s Love, God’s Joy and to establish Himself as God’s Peace with man, for our sakes, and for the sakes of all who call upon Him.
	In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not...And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth... and of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.