Merry Christmas! I hope you, your friends, and your loved ones are enjoying a wonderful day celebrating the birth of Christ.

Christmas means many things to many people. Some people look forward to parties and social events. Some people enjoy the lights and holiday displays in stores and homes. Some people love all the holiday entertainment you can enjoy, such as Hallmark movies and music specials.

And of course, everybody loves gifts, especially kids!

But for people of faith, Christmas is the time of year when we remember the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Even though we may enjoy all the festivities, gifts, and celebration, nothing is more meaningful than remembering the hope we have in Jesus.

It’s fascinating to read the accounts of Jesus’ birth from the Gospels. Those passages have been immortalized not only in church, but in pop culture as well. We all remember how Linus quoted from Luke chapter 2 in the popular TV special “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

But have you ever stopped to consider exactly how these passages were written? We think of the Bible as a sacred text, which it is, but it was also written by regular people who chose to be obedient to the Spirit’s leading in researching and writing down these accounts of Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection.

In Matthew chapter 1, just before the main action of the Christmas story kicks off, there is a short phrase in verse 18. We tend to ignore it as a passing phrase that links the previous section to the next one, but it’s absolutely vital to appreciating the writers of the Gospels. Matthew writes, “This is how the birth of Jesus came about …”

In other words, Matthew is saying, “Listen up, I’m about to set down a definitive account of something really important.” But what if he had not been obedient to his calling? What if he had not taken the time or the trouble to sit down and record this account of Jesus’ birth? Would someone else have done it?

Perhaps. Even though we have three other Gospels, they are all different. If Matthew had not done it, we would have never had his specific account of Jesus’ life.

Somebody had to make the effort. Somebody had to take the time. Somebody had to write it down.

So today, on this Christmas Day, as we relax and celebrate, let’s take a moment to appreciate Matthew and Luke as writers who took the time and effort to record their versions of the Christmas story.

And let’s also reflect on this: if God can use the writing talents of an ordinary tax collector like Matthew, then maybe, just maybe, He can use you and me to make a little dent in history.

Merry Christmas!