Have you ever wondered what Christmas would look like without colour? Imagine the cards, the decorations and the wrapping paper without it. Yet behind the outward trappings of Christmas lies a message that's more important than any other... God's message to each of us... and here it is, expressed in colours!
GOLD
...one of the gifts brought by the wise men for the baby Jesus, reminding us that He was also a king... the Kind of Kings and Lord of Lords. He was God in the form of man...
'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son...'
John 3:16 a
And although He had every right to reign, He came into our world for a different reason altogether. In God's calendar Easter comes before Christmas. Because, if Christmas was the 'means' then Easter was the 'purpose'.. so we can't really take the Cross out of Xmas...
'Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners...'
1 Timothy1:15
BLACK
...as a winter's night and the colour most associated with evil... the darker side of our human nature. Yes, and this includes even the best of us, no matter how good we'd like to think are! The truth is, each of us falls short of the standards our Maker sets for us...
'...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.'
Romans 3:23
RED
...clusters of holly berries... such a familiar colour at this time of year. But it also speaks of the blood shed for us by Christ Jesus, taking the penalty for our sin on the Cross of Calvary... a mere 33 years on from His birth, which we celebrate each Christmas...
'...God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.'
Romans 5:8
Of course this doesn't mean we're all forgiven automatically. We must turn away from all we know to be wrong and ask the risen Christ Jesus to become our Saviour and Lord. And in so doing we receive a brand new start in life, with the motivation and power to live a new lifestyle... pleasing to Him...
'...if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation; the old has gone,
the new has come!'
2 Corinthians 5:17
WHITE
the symbol of cleanliness and purity. So, in becoming a true Jesus follower we've been completely forgiven and, as the Bible puts it, 'clothed' in His righteousness. In fact, we've echoed the words of someone from earlier times...
'...wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.'
Psalm 51:7
GREEN
...the colour of all things healthy, wholesome and environmentally acceptable in today's world... as well as of course so many Christmas trees up and down the land. Yet all too soon these trees will be rejected, thrown away and forgotten. But hopefully the true meaning of Christmas will not suffer the same fate in the hearts and minds of you and me!
