After the birth of Jesus, the angels couldn’t keep quiet. “Don’t be afraid!” an angel told the shepherds. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.” [Luke 2:10) This news was so great that Luke, a Gentile, would be asked by God to write the longest and most detailed of the four Gospel accounts. And what was the great news? That on the first Christmas, 2,000 years ago, God became one of us – but without sin.

Of course, that’s only part of the greatest story ever told. By itself, Christmas is astounding, almost unbelievable. But it’s not miraculous enough. In Scripture, the “good news that will bring great joy to all people” is never understood in terms of Christmas alone. The angel of the Lord immediately goes on to say, “The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David.” [Luke 2:11]

God’s greatest gift wasn’t simply sending His Son, Jesus, but sending Him to live among us, die for us, and rise again. He did this in order to offer us redemption, forgiveness of sins, and adoption into His family forever.

May we never grow too old to contemplate such glad tidings of great joy, or to spread the word of God’s wonderful gift.

This is Luis Palau.