I once heard Glenn Beck declare on one of his talk shows, “Let me share with you my story of Christmas. To me, Christmas is not about the birth of the baby. It is about what that baby grew up to become, how He decided to live His life and the choices and the sacrifices He made in the end. To me, Christmas points to the redemption, the redeeming power of that man.” And I said to myself, “He is really getting it – the redemption of Christ.” But then Glenn followed by saying, “It’s about starting over.” And I said, “Uh-oh!” He went on to suggest that his listeners use the season to start over, wipe their slates clean, and become “who you really are!”

Now I’m not here to criticize Glenn Beck, but the story of Christmas is not about starting over. Yes, the Christmas story is about God’s love and grace and the humility and servant-hood of the little baby that was born. But that baby grew up to be a man, and He came to redeem for our Heavenly Father what is rightfully His in the first place – our lives. He came to pay the greatest price for our redemption – His life, dying for our sins on the cross. The story of Christmas doesn’t stop at the manger. It continues throughout the perfect, sinless life and the cross and the resurrection of the only Son of God. The story of Christmas is that the Father desires for every single one of us to be redeemed. Our part is to accept His redemption in faith.

That’s the real story of Christmas!