Interestingly, there are a number of war stories connected to Christmas.
One of these is the Battle of the Bulge.
This famous battle became a turning point in World War II when the Allies stopped the Nazis in their last major offensive.
One of my favorite Christmas war stories has to do with the Christmas Truce that took place during World War I in 1914.
This is portrayed beautifully in the movie Joeux Noel... as French, British, and German troops take a day off from killing to share jokes, play games and sing songs.
But the best Christmas war story is the one that revolves around the birth of Christ.
When Christ was born, it was a decisive blow in the war against Satan... in that it fulfilled the promise of a coming seed... who would destroy the works of the devil.
Satan went to great lengths to stop the newborn king... even inspiring Herod to kill all the boys two years old and under.
And... ultimately, the evil one did bring about the death of Christ by causing Judas to betray Him...
But even in this God proved victorious because it was all part of His strategy to bring redemption to the world.
Today we enjoy the fruits of that victory.
Yes, there are still battles to be fought. But God's complete triumph is secure.
And the day will come when He will restore all things to His original design...
... "And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war" (Is.2:4).
In the meantime, you can rest assured...
As you fight your own battles, your toil is not in vain.