Somehow in all the planning and celebrating I forgot the most important thing—my response to God’s most precious gift.
We celebrate Christmas because God sent His son, Jesus, so we could have a relationship with Him. But God didn’t just call you and me into a relationship. He called us to be a part of His plan to tell all the peoples of the world about the good news of Jesus Christ.
Amid all the tinsel and twinkling lights, it’s easy to forget that not all the world is celebrating the birth of our Savior. Consider the month of December as an opportunity to be Christ’s ambassador.
One opportunity for this is Hanukkah, the eight-day, eight-night celebration of God’s protection of the Jewish people during the 2nd century B.C. From December 20-27, Jewish households celebrate with games, gifts, the eating of traditional foods and rituals, including the lighting of a series of candles in the menorah every evening.
We can find many ways to connect with our Jewish friends and neighbors. When God made a covenant with Abraham, He made a way for all the world, Jew and Gentile, to know Him.
“The Church has lost an understanding of that significant place that the Jewish people play in God’s heart and God’s plan,” says Murray Tilles, director of Light of Messiah Ministries. “It was through the Jewish people that our Messiah came.”
Tilles was raised in an observant Jewish home. He was taught that you can’t be Jewish and believe in Jesus. But through the influence of a family member and by reading the Bible, Tilles realized that Jesus was who He said He was and the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophesies. Light of Messiah Ministries’ focus is helping Jews come to know Jesus as Messiah.
Tilles suggests that Christian families use holidays like Hanukkah to build a bridge to their Jewish friends. “In the process of building those relationships, we can share the gospel,” says Tilles. “More Jewish people are coming to know the Lord at this point in history than any other time in history since the first century.”
Jews need to hear that Jesus is the Messiah and that they can be Jewish and believe in Him. Just as we adapt the way we share the gospel with those whose concept of God may be miles away from our Savior and Lord, we must meet God’s chosen people where they are, in the traditions and laws of both our prophets and fathers in the faith. Hanukkah is a great time to do that.
42 Winter 2012 •
onmission.com
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