Christmas is Jesus Christ

Did you know that here in the islands you are a nobody? Nobody knows your name. You have to be absorbed into the government system from birth until death.

Yes! Your parents have to register your live birth to acquire a birth certificate from the PSA. And,this has to be congruent with the original record at the civil registry in the place you were born in.

When you start schooling from kindergarten you get an I.D. If you stay in that institution it is valid until you graduate secondary school. In the university, you are given a brand new identification card.

After graduation, you explore employment opportunities. If you work for the government it will provide you an I.D. accordingly. Similarly, if you get hired by a private corporation you are issued a company I.D.

At seventeen you are given a student permit should you like to drive a vehicle whether professionally or non-professionally. If you pass the exams and driving test you have the privilege to legally drive and will have a license to prove it.

If qualified you may have an SSS, GSIS, UMID, Pag-Ibig, PRC, PhilID, OWWA E-Card, Comelec Voter’s ID, PNP permit to carry firearms outside residence, Senior Citizen ID, Airman License, Philippine Postal ID, TIN ID, and PWD ID.

Did you know that if you want to apply for a PhilID you only need a PWD ID or birth certificate? However if you apply for a passport you need a PhilID but you cannot use your PWD ID as enough proof of your identification. In withdrawing money from your BPI bank account your passport is not recognized as a valid proof of identity if unused. You may leave the country, but ironically, you cannot access your finances from your bank. C’est la vie!

With God you do not need any identification card whatsoever! That’s joie de vivre!

God knows you by name and He redeems you. Isaiah 43:1: “ But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. God knows when you sit and rise. Psalm 139:1-4 : “O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.

God knew you in the womb. Psalm 139:13 : “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.” God knows you and He has good plans for you. Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

God knows you and He promises to instruct and counsel you with His eye on you! Psalm 32:8: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.” God has prepared amazing things for you. 1 Corinthians 2:9: But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”.

He knows your name and you are God’s unique workmanship. Ephesians 2:10: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” God knows your name and He desires to adopt you! Ephesians 1:4-5: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

God knows your heart. 2 Chronicles 16:9: “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. “ God knows your name and He wants you to abide in Him. John 15:1-9: “ I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.”

God knows how many hairs are on your head! Luke 12:7: “Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.” God knows all the tears that you shed. Psalm 56:8: “You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?”

Jesus knows that you need Him to be your shepherd. John 10:14-15: “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” God knows that you need redemption. John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

God knows when you go through the storm and He is with you. Isaiah 43:2: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” God promises you His protection. Psalm 91:14: “ Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name.”

God promises to strengthen you. Isaiah 41:10: “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” God has engraved your name on the palms of His hands! Isaiah 49:16: “Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.”

God hears your prayers! Psalm 116:2: “Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!” NLT. God has written your name in the Book Of Life. Revelation 20:15: “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.”

Does your President know you by name? Your Senator? Your Chief Justice? Your favorite sports hero/heroine? Your favorite actor or actress? Your favorite singer? Or any of your idol or celebrity? Hmmm. I guess not.

But it does not matter, as long as you know Jesus, that will do. And that is enough. Christmas is His birthday. The day when all the candles of advent are lit. Everything illuminated and how apt and fitting for the Star of Life, Love, Joy, Peace, and Hope. He is Light. God the Father said in Creation, Let there be light. And, for redemption and the fulfillment of His Promise, The Messiah-- Let there be Jesus!

Special Mention to Father Nono, Monsignor Buentiempo, Rhea and Ate Rani.