What if Christmas had not come?

Posted: 12/14/07

What if Christmas had not come?

By BO Baker

Can you imagine anything more saddening than a Christmas without the Savior? Whether one is a believer or not, we are all involved in the season of Christmas. We purchase gifts to give away. We joy in the sound of music showering down the neighborhood where we live. Expressions of care arriving come so invitingly as we listen to choirs of angels who never seem far away. I’ll be honest with you: I like it, all of it. Our cold hearts need the lift that Christmas brings.

Think about it: What if Jesus had not come? What if he had never entered the mind and heart of the Creator-God?

Suppose the Cross-figure had been little more than a poor grandstander, a radical religionist looking for attention.

Now to be honest, one must add to the story of the birth of a baby from Bethlehem Who introduced him, the touch of miracles that pointed to him, the cross that held him as he gave himself to all mankind, the tomb that lay open because of him, the angels who clung to the battlements of heaven longing to worship the King of Kingdom Come. Yes, all of this, and more. This is the truth that makes Christmas for all of us. Our future hope rests in the fact of the person of Jesus Christ.

Let me ask one more time: What if Christmas had not come? God help! But he did come; and nothing will ever be the same. And because he came, there’ll always be a Christmas:

So long as truth remains in trust,

Conceived with promise held inviolate;

So long as faith confirms the birth

Of day spring’s glad arriving;

So long as wise men find the star,

And shepherds know where angels are;

So long as gifts are brought with care,

And joyful laughter fills the air;

So long as hope responds in kind,

To share the breathless news divine;

So long as children dream their dreams,

Of lions and lambs in single ring;

So long as streets are free from hate,

Where young and old can congregate;

So long as fields awake to green,

Long winter’s wind still welcomes spring,

So long as angel’s anthem sing.

And Virgin’s child is crowned the King—

There’ll always be a Christmas.

BO Baker, a longtime Texas Baptist pastor and evangelist, has written a Christmas reflection for the Baptist Standard 32 consecutive years.