The Purpose Of Christmas...A Great Book to Read or Give...

I'm reading Rick Warren's The Purpose Of Christmas at the moment. It is a small red hardback, just over a hundred pages in length, which a friend found at Walmart and gifted to me. I highly recommend it as a treat for yourself, or a gift for a friend or neighbor. Incidentally, you could probably snag it cheaper from Christian Books Online, but buying it from Walmart will encourage them to carry more great books. Not a bad thing at all.

Anyway, in his new book, Rick extends an invitation to believers and unbelievers alike to look anew at the birth of Jesus from the standpoint of God's purpose.

Why did He come?

He came for one purpose. To pay the price for each one of our sins. In full. As Rick points out, Jesus didn't save himself from the cross, as the thief suggested, because He didn't come to save himself. He came to save us!

Jesus sets salvation apart from religion.

Religion is all about man's attempt to please God. Religion involves lists of things to do in order to gain favor with God.

But salvation is all about "done". It's about God, through grace, reaching down to us. It's about what Jesus did on the cross on our behalf. You can't look at His coming to earth without looking at His purpose and accomplishment.

God's purpose in sending His son was deeply personal. Humbling. Moving. Somewhere along the business of the season, we need to stop in our tracks and realize the greatness of that gift.

If we don't have Christ in our hearts, we will not find Christmas under the tree.

A Savior has been born to you;

he is Christ the Lord!"

Luke 2:11

If you pick up a copy of Rick's book, you won't be sorry!