I know Christmas is supposed to celebrate the birthday of Jesus, but is there more to it than that? I didn't grow up in a religious family, so I've never thought much about the meaning of Christmas. But now that I have a family of my own I'd like to explore some of the things I missed when I was growing up. — M.M.

I'm thankful for your desire to find out more about the meaning of Christmas, and I hope you won't lose interest. God put this desire in your heart, because He wants you to come to know Him in a personal way.

Yes, we do celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas—but for Christians it means much more than that. At Christmas, we celebrate nothing less than the most important event in human history: the moment when God came down from heaven and became a man. As the Bible says, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father" (John 1:14).

You see, we don't celebrate Jesus' birth just because He was a great person. We celebrate it because He was more than that: He was God in human flesh. Do you want to know what God is like? Look at Jesus Christ as He is revealed in the pages of the Gospels.

But why did Christ come? He came to show us God's love—and He did this by dying on the cross for our sins. Now by faith in Him we can be forgiven and reconciled to God. This Christmas, ask Christ to come into your life, and you will discover for yourself the joy and peace He alone can bring to our hearts and lives.