Greg Laurie warns that people are missing the 'raw meaning' of Christmas; calls Jesus a 'riches-to-rags' story

American author and pastor Greg Laurie cautions that many people are missing the "raw meaning" of Christmas and often romanticize the story of Jesus' humble beginnings as somebody born in a stable in Bethlehem.

In a Facebook post, Laurie, who is a senior pastor at California-based Harvest Christian Fellowship, writes that the story of Christ is not a rags-to-riches one. Rather, it is a story of "leaving the glory of heaven" to live the life of an ordinary man, one that comes with poverty.

Jesus could have chosen to be born in a luxurious mansion, but he opted for a filthy barn filled with animals. He chose to be raised by Joseph and Mary, who had no material things to boast of, instead of aristocrats. "The Creator of the universe was born in a stable in Bethlehem," the pastor reminds, adding, "Our Savior came not as a monarch draped in gold and silk, but as a baby wrapped in rags."

In conclusion, Lauri encourages readers to reflect on the notion that he chose to go through life, where he went from riches-to-rags so that men might have a place in heaven.

Throughout the years, Laurie has been active in reminding people about the true meaning of Christmas.

In a 2013 article that was published on the Harvest Christian Fellowship website, Laurie pointed out that people have made Christmas sentimental to the point that the events around the nativity of Jesus in Bethlehem is no longer consistent with the story in the Bible. For instance, many have the notion that he was visited by the Wise Men while he was lying in the manger when Matthew's Gospel indicates they only came some two years later.

The pastor also wrote in the same 2013 post that Christmas has been so romanticized, and it is sometimes associated more with "images of images of snowy countrysides and horse-drawn sleighs and frosty windows and red candles" than with its real beauty.

As he expressed in another blog post back in 2009, the true message of Christmas could easily be lost in the sea of traditions.