Merry Christmas to every Sierra Leonean Family down there in Kenema, Bo, Kono, Kabala, Port Loko, Magburaka, Kambia, Makeni and every corner of the country. Fellow Sierra Leoneans deep in my heart we shall overcome this Ebola Virus. For most of us this is the worst Christmas of the century in Sierra Leone. As a true Sierra Leonean this is no time for celebration while my country is struggling with the Ebola Virus. There is no time for me to join our Christian brothers and sisters to celebrate the birth of Christ while my brothers and sisters in Sierra Leone are on lock down. We all know the true meaning of Christmas. There is no Christmas where there is no true meaning of Christmas. The true meaning of Christmas for every faithful Christian is LOVE. I do not see myself celebrating this important birth of Jesus with my Christian brothers and sisters while my people are grieving and struggling for survival. My home land Sierra Leone still hopes one day Ebola will become a thing of the past. I ask myself what is the true meaning of Christmas? For my Christian brothers and sisters the true meaning of Christmas is LOVE.. We all love our country and therefore this is no time to celebrate, but time to offer serious prayers for those who have left us so soon and ask the Almighty God to have mercy upon their souls and instill compassion and love on our political leaders. According to the Christian teachings the true meaning of Christmas is love. John says, For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. The true meaning of Christmas is the celebration of this incredible act of love. The real Christmas story is the story of Gods becoming a human being in the Person of Jesus Christ. Why did God do such a thing? Because He loves us! Why was Christmas necessary? Because we needed a Savior! Why does God love us so much? Because He is love itself (1 John 4:8). Why do we celebrate Christmas each year? Out of gratitude for what God did for us, we remember His birth by giving each other gifts, worshipping Him, and being especially conscious of the poor and less fortunate. The true meaning of Christmas is love. God loved His own and provided a way—the only Way—for us to spend eternity with Him. He gave His only Son to take our punishment for our sins. He paid the price in full, and we are free from condemnation when we accept that free gift of love. But God demonstrated His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Significantly, the story of the birth of Christ is actually related in the Quran, in Sura 19:16-35. Some of the facts are the same, but, what is most important; the story is given a very different slant. The Virgin Mary is told by an angel that she will give birth to a pure son, as a sign unto men and a mercy from us. She withdraws to a deserted place to give birth, alone, under a palm-tree, and then returns with the infant to her people. When they chide her, supposing she has been unchaste, Jesus speaks up from the cradle in her defense, announcing himself to be a prophet. Such is Jesus, son of Mary, the statement of truth about which they dispute. It is not befitting for God to father a Son, Glory be to Him! When He determines a matter, He only says to it Be and it is. Acknowledge Christs miraculous birth of a virgin, but do not celebrate Christmas because of the misinterpretation of the Incarnation. The hope of salvation which the Incarnate Christ alone brings for Christians. Perhaps this message would get through better if Christians would forgo the more superficial trappings of Christmas, innocent though they may seem, to make Christmas more an occasion to worship and praise God for this inexpressible gift.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 08:07:16 +0000
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