Kids and retailers love it. Parents spend months paying for it! Still, when it's all said and done--and paid for!--Christmas means family, friends, gifts, and lasting memories.

Ever wonder what Christmas means to God? After all, it began as the celebration of His Son's birth.

The Christ Child is more than just a convenient backdrop for holiday festivities. In fact, Jesus Christ came to earth on a mission. His birth set in motion a plan that eventually led Him to die...for all of us. The real meaning is not wrapped up in the Baby in a manger, but in what His birth, life, death, and resurrection accomplished.

From God's perspective, taken from the Bible, here's how you can find the real meaning of Christmas.

A Problem Needing a Solution

There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who
understands, no one who seeks God....all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:10, 11, 23

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9

There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. Proverbs 14:12

The Only Solution

No one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. John 3:3

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." John 14:6

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12

Christ, Our Perfect Substitute

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him [Christ] the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6

God made him [Jesus] who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:21

Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. 1 Peter 3:18

Belief Brings Eternal Life

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. John 3:16

[Jesus said, ] "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand." John 10:28

Therefore he [Christ] is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Hebrews 7:25

Put Christ in This Christmas!

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out....Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved. Acts 3:19,16:31

If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

When you trust in Christ to forgive your sins and give you eternal life, you'll find the real meaning of Christmas. Why not make that choice now? You may want to express your belief in a prayer like this:

Dear God, I'm sorry for all I've done wrong.

I believe that Christ took the punishment for my sins and died and rose again for me. I accept Him as my Savior right now. Thank you for forgiving me and giving me eternal life.