The Christ of Christmas wants all to have the gift of eternal life. Everyone is going to die someday. The Bible says, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,” (Hebrews 9:27) Everyone who has ever been conceived in his mother’s womb has eternal existence.  It is up to each individual to decide just where they are going to spend it. The choice is heaven or hell. The fact is everyone is going to spend more time on the other side of this life than is spent here.  Some will live fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety and maybe even a 100 years on this side.  The other side is forever.

Romans 6:23 says, “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)  The Devil is a paymaster and he will make sure you suffer the consequences of sin.  Those wages are death, and eternal separation from God.  Through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, by the power of the Holy Spirit Christians enjoy the gift of eternal life in heaven.

Christianity is not the stage that someone has reached but always the direction of life that a saved man is heading.  Instead of living a life that is bondage to sin, it is a life reaching out to and obtaining righteousness.  It is a life fed by the Word of God and Illuminated by the Holy Spirit. A man’s talents, abilities, possessions and Holy Spirit gifts are spent for the glory of God, and not on self and the accumulation of worldly wealth.

There was a poor drunkard who awakened one morning in a strange kind of bed. He felt something near him that was warm and soft, which was much different from his usual sleeping place in an alley somewhere. Finally it dawned on him that he was in a stable lying right beside a cow. He heard those familiar Christmas bells that rang every year on Christmas morning.  He realized that he had spent Christmas Eve night in a stable. His thoughts turned to that story of Christ being born in a stable and at that moment chose to get down on his knees and invite Jesus into his life and heart. He chose to receive the gift of free forgiveness, a Savior who could understand and minister to him right were he was in life. He found Christ at Christmas and immediately determined to live for the Lord, a changed life sold out to Jesus Christ and His will. Live for the sake of Christ!