And just like that . . . here we are counting down the days until Christmas! It seems like Thanksgiving was yesterday – and summer vacation was two days ago. Hopefully, the decorations are up, plans are solidified, and Amazon packages are arriving daily (where have you gone precious Sears catalogue???).

Get ready – because I’m going to go a completely different direction with the Christmas story. You may not feel warm and fuzzy after reading this. Good – that’s my goal! I’ve never heard a Christmas sermon or message about this particular topic. However, the subject matter is found multiple times in the Bible. I’m talking about The Dragon lurking over the manger scene. And that dragon is, unfortunately, the ancient evil one known as The Devil.

When asked, why do we celebrate Christmas? Because it is the birth of Jesus. Yes, true. Mary gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them in Bethlehem (Luke 2: 7).

When asked, why did Jesus need to be born? Because he saved the world from their sins. Yes, also true. For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

When asked, why did Jesus need to save the world from their sins? Because the dragon (the devil) in his own rebellion led Adam and Eve (yes, it was both of them – not just Eve) to disobey God and give up their perfect home, perfect bodies, and perfect relationship with God. The woman (Eve) was convinced (by the serpent, another name for the devil, who said she would become like God if she ate fruit from a forbidden tree). She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was WITH HER, and he ate it, too (Genesis 3: 6).

And ever since then, the devil has been attacking God’s people, God’s creation, and attempted to destroy God’s son. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).

Let’s go back to the Christmas story. Most of us have a nativity scene that we take out and put on display. The usual cast of characters are probably there: the shepherds, the wise men, perhaps a few barnyard animals, maybe an angel, Joseph, Mary, and, of course, the baby Jesus. When we look at a typical manger scene, the typical mood and feelings associated with it are quiet, peaceful, Silent Night, and Away in a Manger. There’s nothing wrong with that. However, there is another, supernatural part of the story that we miss out on. Take a look at this passage from Revelation 12. This is from a vision given to the disciple John, who was considered “the disciple whom Jesus loved”:

A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour the child the moment it was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter . . . And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down – the ancient serpent called the devil or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. (verses 1-5, 7-9)

From the book Wild at Heart: As Philip Yancey says, I have never seen a version of the story on a Christmas card. Yet it is the truer story, the rest of the picture of what was going on that fateful night. Yancy calls the birth of Jesus the Great Invasion, “a daring raid by the ruler of the forces of good into the universe’s seat of evil.” Spiritually speaking, this is no silent night. It is D-Day. “It is almost beyond my comprehension too, and yet I accept that this notion is the key to understanding Christmas and is, in fact, the touchstone of my faith. As a Christian I believe that we live in parallel worlds. One world consists of hills and lakes and barns and politicians and shepherds watching their flocks by night. The other consists of angels and sinister forces” and the whole spiritual realm. The child is born, the woman escapes and the story continues like this (pgs. 154-155):

Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring – whose who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. (Revelation 12:17)

So . . . we find ourselves in the middle of an epic story being played out in the visible and invisible realms. We have a villain who is unseen at this time and attacks us on many fronts. However, we have a Hero/King who has conquered evil, fights for us, offers us eternal salvation, and is preparing a heavenly home for us. None of this could have happened without Jesus being born as the familiar Christmas story portrays. Here are three areas to reflect on before the Christmas season has come and gone again:

1. Jesus took our place as sinners – The Bible says: For the Son of Man (another name for Jesus) came to seek and save those who are lost (Luke 19:10). He came as a baby – but his mission is summarized in the second part of this verse: to seek and save those who are lost. Seeking is an active, not passive word. I think about how frantically we would seek after our kids when they were little in a clothing store and would suddenly disappear. We would turn our heads for 1-2 seconds – and they were mysteriously gone! Usually, hiding in the middle of a clothing rack, possibly looking for toys in this boring store, or using stealth to reach the exit. If we haven’t come to him for forgiveness of sins and eternal life – that is how Jesus is frantically seeking after us. But he’s never forceful – it has to be our choice.
2. Jesus gives us a fulfilled life now and eternally. The thief (once again, the devil) only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I (Jesus) have come that they might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10: 10). That is the offer. Eternal life – yes. But a bonus feature – an abundant life here and now. It’s not a promise against struggles, problems, difficulties, or even suffering. It is a promise of Jesus’s fullness, blessing, presence, overflow, and faithfulness to get us triumphantly through this life instead of being miserable and without purpose until he returns for us.
3. Jesus has defeated the devil and will eventually annihilate him. 1 John 3: 8 reminds us: But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Yes, now the battle is good versus evil. But battles ultimately aren’t significant if you’ve lost the war. It’s not an even fight. It would be like a championship Pee Wee football team taking on the Dallas Cowboys. No matter how good the Pee Wee’s are – there is no possible way for them to win. God in his goodness gave us an advance preview thousands of years ago on how this story is going to end:

Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast (the anti-Christ) and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night FOREVER and EVER (Revelation 20: 10).

Conclusion: So . . . next time you see a manger scene – slow down, take it in, reflect on the gift that has been given to us. Maybe even use your imagination to envision a dragon hovering over the stable. However, that dragon has a chain around his neck, his wings and claws have been clipped, his teeth have been extracted, and he puffs out fire the size of a lighter flame. He also has a death sentence permanently tattooed on his body. Don’t let the dragon ruin the Christmas scene. And do not let him ruin your day to day life. Embrace the Christ child’s abundance every day instead.

Blessings,

Dave 🙂

https://www.amazon.com/author/davidrische