Perspective

The common people were oppressed. An authoritarian central government passed laws and levied taxes without regard for their impact on everyday working folks who were looked down on in disdain. Politicians and appointed officials in positions of power got there largely by bribes, being a member of an influential family, blackmail, or knowing someone higher up who owed them a favor. Corruption was rampant at all levels of government from the local level all the way to the highest office holders in what was once the world’s foremost republic.

Moral decay was everywhere. Homosexuality was rampant and though pedophiles were routinely executed if caught among the commoners, influential people were known to routinely engage in sexual acts with minors and even traffic them for that purpose. Rape, incest and infidelity were everywhere. Unplanned pregnancy often resulted in abortion or secretly giving birth only to discard the newborn like trash. The lack of morality and ethics reached all the way to religious leaders of the day. They made an outward show of piety, but secretly indulged in the same sinful behaviors they preached against. They too were guilty of purchasing favor with corrupt government officials both financially, and by voicing support for government policies in places of worship. Anyone who dared speak up against the “official” narratives was exiled or canceled – permanently.

The world I’ve described above might sound familiar. It should, if you’re a student of history. It’s the Roman Empire, and it was into that world a baby was born in a tiny town not far from Jerusalem in what is now Israel. The child grew up in a world not too different from ours. As a man, he traveled around the region bringing radical new teachings about God and humanity’s relationship with Him.

That man led a perfect life. No wrong could be found in him. He performed miracles, curing all manner of illness with a word or a touch. He preached a radical new message, one that decreed it possible for people to have a personal relationship with God free of the burdensome rules and religious mandates of the day. The masses adored him. Jealous political and religious leaders despised him, and ultimately killed him. Or so they thought. Three days after his murder, his tomb was empty. He’d risen from the dead and, in doing so, brought salvation to those who accept the gift of his atonement for sin.

There’s a strange mood in America this Christmas. The joy of the season is tempered by uncertainty. People are anxious, fearful about the future. Don’t be.

Christmas celebrates the arrival of Jesus Christ. Know he came into a world very much like ours. He understands all that is wrong with our nation, but in the midst of it speaks the same words to us that he did so long ago. “Fear not. I have overcome the world.”

Embrace those words this Christmas. Let the Prince of Peace calm any turmoil in your life. Enjoy your family, and from mine to yours, Merry Christmas.