Everywhere you look the world is in turmoil. At almost every turn you can see the results of man’s destructive nature, and their abandonment of God. Over the last several decades we have done our best to eliminate God from modern discourse, and mocked the importance of Christian belief, one of the founding pillars of Western civilization, as primitive and unnecessary to the enlightened of our age.

Society is divided over every issue. Some think there are two sexes, while others think a man can be a woman. Some cheer the recent attacks on Jews, while others decry such evil. Some believe we can exterminate the life of the unborn without a second thought, while others fight to save the most vulnerable in society. Some celebrate ugliness in all its forms, while others struggle to bring man back to an understanding of what is good, and beautiful, and true.

The only answer to these problems and the sick, sinful condition that so plagues the heart of man, is the baby whose birth we celebrate this day. Jesus, the Christ, was God made flesh, who came into the world to conquer sin, death, and evil. He is the only answer to the depression, the loneliness, the despair, and the wickedness, that engulfs every corner of this planet.

The world is hopeless. Only a turning to Christ can save us from what is coming. Our time of blessing and abundance has wained, and a time of war, persecution, and scarcity is upon us. Hard times are coming, and refuge will only be found in the Lord. Only that babe who was once placed tenderly in a manger can save us. This is why we celebrate Christmas: we rejoice over God’s love for us.