Read Mark 1:1–8
‘The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God…’ (v1)
At the beginning of Mark’s Gospel, he gets right to the point, no second guessing what his message is about, ‘The beginning of the good news about Jesus’ (v1).
Mark leaves us with no illusions as to what he is writing about. In the rest of the Gospel, as the other Gospel writers do, Mark tells us what Jesus said and what Jesus did, so we can know who He is.
Christmas can be a busy time, with lots of things to plan, perhaps presents to wrap and people to visit.
In the busyness of the celebrations, it can be easy for the focus on Christ and God’s redemptive activity, to be pushed to the side, or worse, not to feature at all.
Like Mark, we need to be clear, leaving people with no illusions as to what we are celebrating and why – making the good news of Jesus ‘up front and central’.
Additionally, we need to communicate that the birth of Christ is just the ‘beginning’; that the good news goes on to embrace his life, death, resurrection and return.
The challenge this Christmas, for all of us who profess to own the name of Jesus, is to keep Christ in the centre in all that we do. The song says:
Jesus, be the centre Be my source, be my light, Jesus. Jesus, be the centre Be my hope, be my song, Jesus.
A PRAYER TO MAKE: ‘Lord Jesus, thank You that You are the reason for the season. Help me to keep You central as I celebrate. Amen.’
AN ACTION TO TAKE: How might we keep Jesus central this Christmas?
SCRIPTURE TO CONSIDER: Psalm 121:1–8; John 15:1–5; Heb. 3:1; 1 John 1:7
Photo by Harold Wijnholds on Unsplash
