The Lord Jesus had to walk a long, difficult road—beginning in Nazareth, then at the Jordan River when He was baptized, through the fierce struggle of facing a stubborn and hard-hearted Jewish nation. He had to enter the Garden of Gethsemane, face Pilate and the high priest, stumble along the Via Dolorosa to Golgotha, and finally rise again in the garden tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. But His journey did not end there. His resurrection came with a mandate to all believers: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” This declaration carries both a calling and a responsibility for us: Jesus has finished His redemptive work on the cross, and Satan has lost his place in heaven. Now, on earth, it is our task to continue that work. Just as the Father sent Jesus, now Jesus sends us.
When we celebrate Christmas today, we remember the beginning of Jesus’ journey. And this can also inspire us—it marks the beginning of our journey as well. We are the ones called to carry on His work of salvation. Celebrating Christmas does not mean we are automatically saved. On the contrary, because salvation has been given to us, we now bear the responsibility to work it out—to walk through the process of becoming truly saved. What is the purpose of that salvation? That our character might be transformed. For we cannot be Christ’s messengers without possessing the same quality as the One who sends us.
In Revelation 12:10-11, we are told that two things defeat Satan. First, by the blood of Jesus; and second, by the testimony of those who did not love their lives even unto death. The first is clear—the blood shed on Calvary. The second refers to the believers who are willing to lay down their lives. Who are they? We are. We are the ones meant to carry on this struggle. Therefore, when we celebrate Christmas, there should be a burden in our hearts—because the work is not yet finished. We are only just beginning. But we must be willing to “lose our lives,” just as Jesus emptied Himself. How do we fulfill this task? First, by giving the devil no foothold in our lives. Satan must have no place within us. To be Christ’s messengers, we cannot open ourselves to the power of darkness—we must live as Jesus lived. We must be changed.
As our faith and spiritual maturity grow, each year we celebrate Christmas, our burden should deepen—not with empty euphoria or superficial joy. Each Christmas, we should reexamine Jesus’ journey: how He began by emptying Himself. And after completing all things, all authority in heaven and on earth was given to Him. He defeated Satan and cast him out of heaven down to earth. Now, we are the ones called to finish what remains.
What a heavy burden this is. Too often, Christmas services and celebrations merely make Jesus an object—far from allowing Him to be the subject of our lives. If that is so, it would be better not to celebrate Christmas at all than to celebrate it while reducing Him to an object of sentimentality.
He is no longer a helpless baby. It is as though He looks upon the world and says, “See how I emptied Myself, leaving all glory behind. I have finished My task. Now you—who claim to believe in Me, who claim to follow Me—do as I have done.” To follow Jesus means continuing to walk with Him along the Via Dolorosa, even to the cross, as Paul testified, to become like Him in His death. He is no longer an infant, and we, too, must no longer be infant Christians—believers without responsibility, without burden—blind to the wickedness of this world that drags many into eternal darkness.
He is waiting for those willing to suffer with Him, for His Kingdom will come when the number of those who are like Him is complete. Thus, when we celebrate Christmas in this way, our hearts are not filled with shallow cheer but with holy sorrow and divine burden. New believers—spiritual infants—may celebrate with festivity and excitement.
But what kind of Christmas spirit do we hold? It is the spirit of suffering, humility, and self-emptying. That is the true spirit of Christmas. Singing and rejoicing are not wrong—but behind every song, behind every joy, the true spirit must remain: the divine burden we carry together with Christ.