#BTColumn – Christmas a time to reflect

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by this author are their own and do not represent the official position of the Barbados Today.

by Pastor Flloyd N Hall

Christmas is a time when we remember and reflect on the birth of the Christ child.

But should it not also be a season when our minds are propelled forward, and we are reminded of the future as well?

Of course, we are glad and joyous that He came – that all the Old Testament prophecies which spoke of how and where the Messiah would be born were fulfilled.  Exactly fulfilled!

For example, Isaiah 7:14 informs, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

Isaiah gives us the “how.” He pulls back the curtain for the people of his day so they could peek into the future. He tells how God was going to bring about the greatest rescue mission ever – the greatest salvation plan and reconciliation effort ever.

He would start the process with the birth of an innocent baby boy to a virgin girl! Isaiah even added in the significant fact that the mother would name her first child Immanuel, which every Jew knew meant, “God with us” (Matthew 1:23).

And, what about the “where” – that is, the place the Messiah would be born? Now, we look to another Old Testament prophet. Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah who prophesied in the 8th century BC.

He foretells, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”

Micah was very precise. There were two Bethlehems at the time of Christ, so he had to be. One was in the north of Judea, near Nazareth and the other in the south. The latter was also known as Bethlehem-Judah or Bethlehem Ephratah.

Millennia have passed, and the events of Christ’s birth and life on earth have taken place – just as Micah, Isaiah, and the other prophets had foretold.

But the question remains: should not the Christmas season also remind us of future events concerning the Messiah’s return?

Of course it should. In fact, that is the reason He came as a baby in the manger in the first place. He would grow up as the God-man and as Saviour of the world. He would reign in our hearts and lives as Lord, and ultimately, as King of Kings and Lord of lords over the earth!

We need to be able to sing with the songwriter, “He will come again, I will see Him; Messiah, He will reign on the throne. Not with swaddling bands, but with power in His hands; I will see Him when He comes,” (Christmas song, “He Will Come Again” by gospel artiste and wife, Kerina Hall).