Christmas in Heaven

All my life I have heard the debates about whether it is even appropriate to celebrate Christmas at this time of year. Some argue that Jesus was actually born in August or September, based on calculations tied to the birth of His relative, John the Baptist. Others reject December 25 altogether, pointing to pagan roots in ancient festivals that had nothing to do with Jesus.

Personally, I do not think the exact date is the most important thing. What matters is the true, living meaning of what we celebrate. And if the real reason for Christmas is Jesus, then let us begin where the story begins, with the beautiful account in Luke 2 (NIV):

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Luke 2:1–20 (NIV)

A Celebration in Heaven

The Word of God tells us that when Jesus was born, heaven erupted in praise and worship. Heavenly hosts appeared to shepherds keeping watch over their flocks and pointed them to the newborn King. The shepherds hurried off and found Jesus wrapped in cloths, a scene every one of us would have loved to witness.

But there is something about that place we rarely stop to consider: it was a manger.

A manger was where animals were fed. In that region, stables were often carved into grottoes or small caves in the rock, which made them damp, cold, and dark. Stop for a moment and think about the smell. That manger did not smell like cedar. It was almost certainly filthy and foul.

Why spoil the pretty Christmas postcard? Stay with me a little further into Luke, and I will explain:

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

Luke 15:1–7 (NIV)

This passage shows us how heaven celebrates. The greatest celebration in heaven happens when Jesus is born in the life of a repentant sinner. The date and the hour do not matter. Every single time the dark, dirty, foul-smelling manger of a human heart receives the infinite, perfect, all-powerful God, heaven throws a party.

Many Jews expected their Messiah to be born in a golden cradle, since He descended from Judah and from kings. Instead, He was born in the only place left when there was no room anywhere else. The birth of Jesus reveals one of the greatest mysteries and miracles in the universe: God wants to come and make His home in the manger of our hearts.

There is something many Christians still miss, just as the Pharisees missed it. How could Jesus, so holy, care about “dirty sinners”? If they had truly understood Bethlehem, they would have known. He did not come for the healthy, but for the sick. His own comfort mattered little next to the mission He carried. Sinners—including us—were the reason He did not cling to equality with God for His own advantage. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

How can we call ourselves Christians and forget the people who still do not know Him? How can we claim the mind of Christ if we do not think and act out of what moved Him? If God Himself came to earth to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many, who are we to live only for ourselves, pushing aside people whose only difference from us is that they have not yet received what we were given so freely?

This coming year will be different for me, because I want to celebrate many Christmases. I want to witness and take part in many births of Jesus in the hearts of men and women whose souls would be lost forever if we do nothing. I want a year full of celebrations in heaven, week after week in our small groups and in every chance we get to be light in the darkness. I want a year of glorifying the Father with fruit.

Jesus Did Not Stay Lying in the Manger

Thinking about Jesus being born in human mangers stirs up another thought: the traditional Christmas can leave us with a dangerous misunderstanding. Have you ever been to a family gathering where a beautiful nativity scene is arranged with angels, animals, and the Holy Family, while around it people smoke, drink too much, speak with cruelty, and indulge in everything that grieves God?

I have long believed that the familiar image of the “Divine Child” can do real harm when it keeps Jesus small enough to ignore. What adult stops sinning out of respect for a baby? Many people picture Jesus as a helpless infant who only cries and reaches for His mother. So they ignore Him at Christmas the way someone might ignore a newborn who cannot confront them.

What a grave deception to make people believe that this is the whole Jesus of Christmas.

In case anyone has missed it, Jesus is no longer a child. He grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. He studied the Scriptures all through His youth and most likely worked alongside Joseph in the labor of a grown man. One day the Spirit led Him into the wilderness, and from there He began His mission: healing the sick, raising the dead, embracing lepers, teaching the ignorant, rebuking hypocrites, and pressing His unsurpassed, ever-relevant words into the memory of history.

He showed us the true meaning of passion by fulfilling His calling no matter the deadly cost, letting Himself be killed by an enraged crowd He died forgiving. He rose on the third day, setting our faith apart forever from any shallow religion built on mere philosophy, and He gave us the Holy Spirit to lead and guide our lives, both personal and shared.

How vital it is to let Jesus grow up in our hearts. We have to stop underestimating what He did by coming into this world, and let Him mature in our lives. It is time for us to decrease so that He may increase. It is time to move past the idea of the “Child God” and recognize that no one is greater, more powerful, or more awe-inspiring than He is.

He is seated on His throne, wrapped in light, with the entire universe turning around Him, at the right hand of the Father, preparing a place for us, pleading our innocence, sharpening His sword, saddling His warhorse, ready to open the seals, scatter armies, and claim His kingdom and His creation.

The Spanish singer-songwriter Marcos Vidal captured this contrast masterfully in his song “El Niño de Belén” (“The Child of Bethlehem”). He reflects on how Jesus was born as a simple baby, unnoticed by many, yet destined to grow up and fulfill a mission that would change the world. The child would die on the cross, bring a new dawn of light, and open the way to the Father again. Vidal also warns that a world that forgets Jesus and replaces His victory with earthly pleasures will one day see Him return in glory.

The Star of Bethlehem

I hope this reflection stirs deeper gratitude as we celebrate Christmas. More than a memory from two thousand years ago, the birth of Jesus points to that unforgettable day when we finally opened our hearts and let Him in.

And even more, it is a time to renew our commitment to bring about many more Christmases, sparking all the celebrations in heaven that the Father still gives us time to arrange. It is time to be like the star that lit the way to the Son of God, letting Him use us to reach the world He loved so much.