'And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it ... '
'The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being ... '
Christmas focuses on the glory of God. Here in this Christmas Child God reveals himself. Here, unveiled before us, we see God. Not a distant unapproachable God, lacking in sympathy, lacking in empathy, lacking in understanding; but a God who comes down, a God who comes near, a God who becomes one of us.
Here in this Christmas Child, the mysteries, the questions, that surround the being of God, are ripped away. Here God steps out of the blinding light that surrounds him, and into the darkness that surrounds us, scattering our ignorance and our misconceptions. Here God says 'This is who I am ... this is what I am ... '
Here, in Jesus Christ, we see God.
To honour Jesus Christ, the Son, is to honour God. To give glory to the Son, is to give glory to God. To receive or acknowledge the Son, is to receive and acknowledge God.
For this Child is also the eternal Creator of all that exists. This Child is also the eternal Saviour - the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the earth.
This Child, through his Incarnation brings God to man, and through his crucifixion and resurrection brings man to God. He, this Christmas Child, God-with-us, is worthy to receive ... honour and glory and praise.
[Scriptures: Isaiah 40:5; Hebrews 1:3; John 14:6-9; 2 Corinthians 4:6; John 8:12; 5:23,24; 12:44-46; Luke 2:14-20; John 1:14; Matthew 2:2; Colossians 1:16; Revelation 13:8; 5:12.]