“And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.”  (1 Corinthians 15:14, NIV)

Ah yes, it’s another one of those “What if?” questions. “What if President Kennedy had not been assassinated?” “What if Hitler had never been born?” It’s certainly interesting to speculate on “What if Christmas had never happened?”

How would the world be different? Well, it wouldn’t be the year 2014 for one thing. We wouldn’t be a nation founded on Judeo-Christian principles. In fact, we might not even be a nation since the Pilgrims wouldn’t have come to the New World seeking freedom to worship Christ.

There wouldn’t be a “Christian right.” No television evangelist scandals either. Of course, crooks and swindlers would still be active in the world; they just wouldn’t be fleecing the flocks of believers—at least not believers in Jesus.

People would continue to lie, to cheat, to murder. Everyone would still do “what is right in their own eyes.”

You see, if Christmas had never happened, there would still be sin in the world; but without the Savior, sin would have no remedy.

Without the baby born in a manger (Luke 2:7), dying for the sins of the world (1 Corinthians 15:3) and then being raised (Mark 16:6), there would be no hope of redemption; in fact, our faith would not just be useless (1 Corinthians 15:14) but nonexistent. So while we can imagine a winter season with no decorations on a tree and no Yuletide carols, if Christmas had never happened it would be a bleak, cold winter, figuratively speaking, all year long.

“Thank you Lord, that you did come—that there is hope for us sinners. That because of the virgin birth we can celebrate Christmas gifts now and the greatest Christmas gift all year long. Amen.”