I still believe the Christmas story. It is one of my joys of the season | Opinion

“… Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.

But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying,

‘Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”’

– The Gospel according to Matthew 1:18-23/King James Version

I love the Christmas story. More than that — I believe it. To me, the story of Jesus’ birth is more than a fairy tale of a baby born in Jerusalem, in a stable next to an inn that had no room for his mother to give birth to him.

It is a love story — the story of the true and living God, who loved this world so deeply that He gave his only begotten son to take upon himself the sins of the world, that we might have eternal life.

Fourteen generations passed before Jesus was born. His coming to earth is a story that was prophesied by the Prophet Isaiah:

“…Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

Isaiah 7:14/King James Version

“… For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

Isaiah 9: 6/King James Version

The devastating war raging in the region near where Jesus was born over 2,000 years ago is something that I believe he would not want. Jesus was born to bring us peace. Now, more than ever, we need that peace and goodwill.

Yet, just as the wise men sought Jesus thousands of years ago, we, too, must seek him and the harmony that he brought. We must not only hold on to it, we must also spread it. Because while the peace of Jesus was given to each of us, what we do with it is up to us. That is because the Lord also gave us a free will.

We must diligently pursue the peace that Jesus brought and hold on to it. We do this by reaching out to those who are culturally, racially and/or religiously different from us. We seek and spread harmony by being genuine in trying to understand those who are different from us. And we do it by learning to forgive.

In this Christmas season, each of us can decide to seek peace. We must decide this even as wars are raging, and while missiles whiz overhead and bombs burst on the ground, destroying lives and property in the Holy Land. Each of us can have the peace that Jesus brought with him by simply asking for it. And we can have it by believing.

I am aware that not everyone who reads my column believes as I do. But to believe in peace is universal. Such a belief crosses religious lines. It binds people together no matter their belief.

In the Biblical story of Jesus’ birth, there was no room for him in the inn, leaving his mother Mary to give birth to him in a lowly stable, wrapping him in swaddling clothes and laying him in a hay-filled manger.

It is symbolic of what is happening today: There seems to be no room for Jesus anymore in many places in the world.

When I was a child, we were taught the Christmas story in the public schools we attended. We sang “God Bless America,” said The Lord’s Prayer, followed by The Pledge of Allegiance. In some classrooms, the teacher selected a different student each day to read a Bible verse. Then the school day began.

Were we perfect back then? No. We were struggling, as a nation, to get it right. We still are. But I believe that things were a lot better in our society when we included the teachings of the Bible in our public schools.

Teachers and parents were less stressed because shooting up a school was unheard of back then. There was no need for guards to be stationed at the entrance of our schools, or for metal detectors to be installed. In fact, as a child I never even heard of the term “metal detector”.

Then, suddenly Jesus was ushered out the doors of our public schools. I never understood why one person, Madalyn Murray O’Hair, was given the power to rid our schools of religious teaching. She is the woman who sued Baltimore public schools on behalf of her son William.

I can understand that she was an atheist. If someone doesn’t believe in God, that is their privilege. But just as unbelievers have the privilege to flaunt their unbelief, I believe that believers should have the same privilege.

This taking-religion-out-of-schools-and public places could have been worked out in another way. It is called “RESPECT.” If the authorities would have given their decision more thought, I believe they could have come up with a solution that would have benefited believers as well as non-believers.

The law could have said that non-believers don’t have to participate in the Bible-reading praying sessions. They could have been excused from the classroom for that time and sent to the library. This way, they would not be exposed to something they did not believe in. And believers could go on with their Bible reading and praying.

But, no, the authorities decided in favor of non-believers, while taking away the rights of believers. I never thought that was fair. And down through the years, the peace that Jesus came to bring has been chipped away, little by little.

Today, as we prepare for Christmas Day, let us give a little more thought to why we celebrate this holy day. Let’s revisit our childhood days, when it was okay to wish someone a warm “Merry Christmas,” instead of trying to be politically correct by lumping it in with other seasonal holidays, such as in “Happy Holidays.”

Christmas is special. I do not know the exact day Jesus was born, but I believe Christmas is the birthday of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I am like a wide-eyed child who still believes the Christmas story. It is one of my joys of the season. The fact that so many do not believe the story of why Jesus was born doesn’t make the story any less true to me, and countless of others.

So, Merry Christmas, ya’ll! May the peace of Jesus Christ rest on each of you.