“Long lay the world in sin and error pining, till He appeared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope - the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.”
The flip side of Christmas is the acknowledgement of sin and error. The great darkness that had lain on the world from the time of Eden was undone by the birth of God’s Son, who is the radiance of the God’s glory. Remove the awareness of sin and Christmas is no more than the bland sentiment of “be nice to one another”. But in the fertile soil of Christ’s grace and truth, “be nice to one another” is transformed into:
“Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His gospel is peace. Chains He shall break, for the slave is our brother, and in His name all oppression shall cease. ”
Christ-like love has a freeing effect on the recipient and seeks not surface niceness, but a true breaking of the bondage that constrains us and our neighbor.