Christmas is the time of year that brings out the best and the worst in people. As I’ve shared before, I didn’t grow up in a Christian household; Christmas was the day where we opened presents and ate a lot of food. Growing up, I never understood what drove people to spend lots of money and time buying gifts of all sorts and sizes. Just this last week I read an article that said most Americans are spending between $400 to $800 in gifts, mostly on credit, for this Christmas. The same article stated that most Americans will be paying on Christmas gifts until September of next year.
Many of the local stores where I live began their Christmas decorating season in October; by the day after Thanksgiving, celebrated as Black Friday, items of all shapes and sizes went on sale in anticipation of Christmas wish lists. In many of the stores, this past Monday witnessed a change in displays that now promote Valentine’s Day items. Earlier this week I decided to share with the readers of this blog what I think has been missing from Christmas for some time.
Christmas with sincerity
Within the gospel of Matthew Jesus told his disciples, But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil (Matthew 5:37). The apostle James wrote, A double minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8) and the apostle Paul wrote, That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ (Philippians 1:10). Paul also wrote to the Christians in Corinth, Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (1 Corinthians 5:8). As Christians, we are urged to be sincere in everything that we do but there are times when even the strongest in the faith will simply go through the motions at this time of the year. If Christians cannot find something wonderful – the celebration and observation of the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, then how can we expect those who are lost to understand the importance of this day?
I do understand how easy it is to become distracted by the demands of what we have come to know as Christmas. The demands for the perfect gift, for the perfect holiday meal, and even the perfect Christmas cards to lists of people we believe will expect a card from us have come to replace the true meaning of this special day. In fact, for a while, I simply went through the motions of Christmas; for all outward appearances I was simply doing what was expected. However, the Lord knew my heart and knew that instead of being sincere, everything I was doing for Christmas was a façade. What I was doing was not a reflection of what was in my heart. This is not bringing honor or demonstrating our reverence towards Christ but towards the expectations of mankind. James wrote, Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded (James 4:8) in testimony of how God truly wants us to be honest with ourselves, with Him, and with those around us. He also promises that if we strive to be closer to Him that He will meet us.
Christmas with the love of Christ
We’ve all heard that song, Mary, did you know? and it has gotten to the point that it is one of my least favorite Christmas songs. For Mary to be favored among all women, I am pretty sure that when the angel told her who she was carrying in her womb, she knew from the teachings from the Old Testament prophets she bore the Messiah, the Redeemer of all mankind. Now with that out of the way, knowing what He would endure in His life, He still was born according to His Father’s will. As an infant, laying in the manger that night, He knew He would teach and demonstrate Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13). When we look at the world around us with its humanist messages, the pain and sickness, the loneliness, we see a world that is in need of the love of Christ. The apostle Paul wrote, That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love (Ephesians 3:17) as a testimony that as Christians, we need to be grounded in the love of Christ. This means we need to be ready to demonstrate Christ’s love toward ourselves in everything we do for others. We must love without the expectation of anything in return. And our Christmas giving must be modeled after God’s greatest gift to us – a sacrificial giving without counting the cost.
Christmas must return to being Christ-centered
This seems like an obvious observation. However, as simple as it is this truth is, it is often overlooked. All it takes is to flip through the many new television Christmas specials and it becomes painfully obvious how the celebration of the birth of Jesus is being relegated to an event of little to no importance (and yes, I do know that Jesus was most likely not born on December 25th, but that is NOT the purpose of this particular post). Even the Hallmark Channel has chosen to incorporate themes of budding romances, family, and “Christmas” miracles in their newer movies but leave out the miracle of the Virgin birth. As I was watching television last night, I saw advertisements for various Christmas programming that brought this verse to my mind: No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (Matthew 6:24). For me, it boils down to this – if I say I am going to celebrate Christmas for the sake of worshiping and honoring Jesus’ birth, then He needs to be the center of that worship. As I think of that first Christmas, when God gave the world His Son, as a lowly infant born in a manger, God sent the very best He had. God gave Jesus to pay for our sins out of the depths of His love for mankind. In fact, even Jesus reminded us of this during the conversation with Nicodemus: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved (John 3:16-17).
It isn’t about the presents under the tree or how much the Christmas meal is going to cost. It is about gathering with family and friends to celebrate, to honor, and to worship our Lord and Savior, Jesus, at the time we have set aside to honor His birth. Anything beyond our worshiping and honoring of Him simply distracts from the spirit of this holy day.
Are you going through the motions this Christmas and you know your efforts aren’t sincere? Refocus your mind and heart on Jesus. Let everything you do be out of your love of Jesus and not because others expect you to do them. God sent His Son to mankind not because it was expected but because He loved us that much. Make a conscious effort to draw the attentions of this Christmas season to Him in all that you do and if you’re like me, this will bring back the joys of Christmas and the celebration of Christ’s birth.
From my house and family to yours, have a Merry Christmas and remember that Jesus is the reason for this special season.
