Do You Hear What I Hear?


The title of this article is the first line of a popular Christmas song which calls the listener 
to recognize the arrival of God's anointed one in the form of a baby born in Bethlehem.  
While the incarnation is an astonishing miracle, its purpose was and is more than just 
the celebration of a baby's birth.  It is the celebration of the Gospel itself—the good 
news that God has sent forth His Son into the world so that those who truly put their 
faith in Him might have eternal life  (John 3:16).

Essential to this celebration is the proclamation of Jesus Christ and Him crucified to a 
lost and dying world.  If men do not see the light of God's call to salvation, what good is 
there in seeing the light of a star over Bethlehem?  If men do not hear the wisdom of 
God proclaimed in the preaching of the Gospel, what good is there in hearing the praise 
of wise men from the east who traveled to worship the one born king of the Jews?  If 
men do not prostrate themselves before the lordship of Jesus Christ, what good is there 
to singing about shepherds falling prostrate before a baby in a manger?  If men do not 
share in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ in baptism, what good is 
there to share in the celebration of His birth?

As the world pauses to contemplate the birth of the Messiah, I hope that we will pause 
to contemplate our role in spreading the news about His shed blood upon a cross.  

I'm glad that the world pauses to celebrate His birth.  I just hope that those who are 
pausing will do so long enough to remember His death and His offer of eternal life to all 
who obey Him.


Leslie