‘Tis the Season’
I would first like to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas. I was debating on how to write my Christmas post this year. I remember as a child always looking forward to Christmas Eve spent at my grandparent’s house, and then opening gifts on Christmas morning. This is the time of year when many great memories are made with loved ones. This is also a time of year to look back on memories made with loved ones who are no longer here. For some people, this year’s Christmas might be difficult, because of a loved one no longer being here. Or you might be spending Christmas at work. Regardless of our circumstances for this Christmas, we must remember the main reason behind the season.
Why We Celebrate Christmas
What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word Christmas? I want you to be honest with yourself on this question. Do you think about the gifts, family, work parties, family gatherings, church services, music, movies, decorations, or just the time off from work or school? I think far too often people think of Christmas incorrectly. We get so focused on the worldly stuff rather than the true meaning of Christmas. The true meaning of Christmas is the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Conformed to the World
I know many people who seem to get distracted by the things of this world during this time of year. Romans 12:2 (NASB) reminds us “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”. I find it amazing that we as the Body of Christ will exhort so much time, energy, and money into making sure our Christmas traditions are perfect. While I like Christmas traditions, why are we not giving this much attention to our personal discipleship? Why are we not spending all this time we find to shop for gifts, meditating in the Word during the rest of the year?
Continuous Joy
Many people seem to be in a more joyous mood this time of year. Why do we get so excited for one day of the year for our traditions? Why are we not excited every day that a Savior was born that saved us from eternal death? We should be excited about that every day! Psalm 95:1 (NASB) tells us, “O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD, let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.”. Additionally, in Acts 13:52 (NASB) “And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”. If the disciples were filled continually with joy, then we should be too! We should continually have joy because we are saved, healed, and delivered by the Blood of the Lamb. We celebrate His birth this time of year. We shouldn’t just be filled with joy during the Christmas season, we should be filled with joy all the time.
Distortion
Just like Christmas gets distorted by the world, so does the Gospel. It is not just Christmas that gets distorted by secular things, it is also the Gospel that is distorted. There are far too many ministers who preach another Christ. If a sermon is titled ‘Nine Steps to Happiness’, I would suggest running from that church! The Gospel is not about how to fix a flat tire, it is about the Blood that was shed at the Cross. More people are following prosperity gospel preachers today than ever before. God is not going to give people the desires of their unregenerate hearts, no matter how much you waste your voice “speaking it into existence”. The Gospel is not about fulfilling our lust of the flesh, God isn’t going to tell you to go out and purchase a luxury item. God will tell you to be a good steward of your finances. It always seems that the average church has yet install discerning filters to filter out the garbage of this dark world. The American dream was never meant to be tied in with Scripture. Just like Christmas was not meant to be a time of year when millions of people go in debt awaiting their tax refunds.
Conclusion
The key takeaway is to keep our eyes always focus on what the Bible says about everything our lives. If we can keep our focus in line with the things of God, our lives will be much easier. The world always distorts the true meaning of Christmas, just like it does the true Gospel. I encourage you to make incorporating Christ into each part of your life as best as you can. I also encourage you to make your Christmas focused on Christ rather than how this world tells you to celebrate it. Maybe instead of saying Merry Christmas to people, we should say “A Savior is Born”.