But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. - Micah 5:2

Why is the red tinsel so radiant? It wraps around the tree so beautifully and best reflects the lights strewn throughout. Of all the colors, in Christmas, there is no other color so glorious! Red signifies life as we consider the color of blood when we bleed.

Lost in the maze of inns, shepherds, wise men, and a bright star is the gruesome reality of humanity’s dark infirmity called sin! The star may have guided the shepherds but its role had more than one purpose. It is a light in the darkness but also exposes humanity to see that we are the darkness apart from the Light of the World.

In our tribal mentality, we construct the false dichotomy of good and evil amongst ourselves. We use politics, culture, finances and ethnicity as standards of right and wrong. The Christ Child exposes the reality that none of us are and/or were good.

as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes." - Romans 3:10-18

We have awkwardly deluded ourselves into washing out the significance of the Christ Child. No Greater Gift to humanity than there was, and is, in the Baby in the Manger! The star in the sky was, and is, the glorious Cross.

The Bright Star is the Glory of the ministry of the Cross. It was a glimpse into the future of humanity’s redemption packaged into the Incarnation known as Baby Jesus! That night, God revealed the past, present and future of the first promise of redemption:

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." - Genesis 3:15

Laid in a manger to only be laid on the Cross! THIS IS TRULY THE GREATEST GIFT! We cannot allow the over-commercialization of this sacred time diminish its significance!

If anything highlights this time more powerful is to see how people act on Black Friday! The day after being grateful for our blessings, we take hedonism and covetousness to a whole new level. We do not have to go back to the fall in the Garden to recognize our depravity. We can go back less than a month to recognize the best humanity could offer. Spend an hour on social media posts about politics and it will drive home the importance of our need to be rescued!

The Birth of Christ was God casting the Life Preserver for humanity. Isn’t it amazing that the most simplistic life preserver on vessels have a White Cross next to a Red Cross? Avoid the distractions that deflect Christmas from being anything but a rescue mission. Reflect this Truth and cast the Life Preserver to those who need to be saved!