Bethlehem would have been happier if Jesus had been born elsewhere. Christmas cards picture Bethlehem as a lovely village, and you might wish you had been there when baby Jesus was born. But if you could go back in time and talk with people who lived in Bethlehem back then, they would probably tell you that they wish Jesus had been born somewhere else. For them, Christmas was a calamity. Jesus’ birth brought bloodshed.

If you could go back in time and ask Bethlehem's people to tell about their experiences connected with Christmas, they would not smile and share fond memories. Their eyes would brim with tears. Their voices would crack with anguish and anger. They would speak not of festivities and feasting but of funerals. Sure, you might find a few shepherds with joyful memories of the night they heard angels and saw that remarkable baby in the manger, but even some of the shepherds might express mixed feelings about Jesus being born in their town. Any shepherds near Bethlehem who had babies at that time would have seen their little ones murdered along with all the other babies of Bethlehem. Why were the babies killed? Because Jesus had been born there. That one baby's birth meant the death of every other baby in Bethlehem and the surrounding area. There was terrible crying after Christmas.

Some of us enjoy Christmas as a time for family celebrations: moms and dads, brothers and sisters, grandpas and grandmas, aunts and uncles and cousins having a great time together. But for others Christmas is a time of tears, a time when grief and loneliness are worse than usual, when our tragedies and troubles hurt the worst. We think back on our losses, and we weep.

And even if many of us haven’t suffered personally, we mourn with those in others parts of the world whose children were massacred by terrorists. We mourn for lives that have been shattered by wars, hurricanes, and other events. We may still love Christmas and enjoy the season, but what about all the tears and broken hearts? If Jesus came into the world to save people and to bring joy and peace, why do awful things still happen?

The people of Bethlehem would understand such sorrow. They would have terrifying memories. After the first Christmas, these people saw soldiers barging into their homes. Moms and dads saw their own babies clubbed or stabbed or strangled. Boys and girls saw their own little sisters and brothers murdered. Grandpas and grandmas who had tenderly cradled those precious little ones would never hold them again. Uncles and aunts and cousins and neighbors shared in the shock and horror. Nobody in Bethlehem could forget that awful

Perhaps it doesn't take much imagining for you to identify with Bethlehem’s tears. Perhaps you've been through something awful in your own life. Your heart is breaking. Evil and death seem everywhere. The Christmas question is this: Despite it all, can you believe you'll be okay in the end because Jesus got away and holds your future in his hands?

Remember: When the lying, murdering Butcher of Bethlehem has done his worst, Jesus still lives. When the ultimate liar and murderer, Satan himself, has done his worst, Jesus still lives. No matter what happens, no matter how vicious the powers of evil become, no matter how horribly you suffer, Jesus still lives! And because Jesus lives, hope lives. On this Christmas, as at the first Christmas, there is much darkness in the world—there's no denying it. But "the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:5). Is the light of Jesus shining in your heart?