I have wanted to write so much more about Christmas than I have had time to. My heart is drawn to Christ during this time, more so than any other. I have found myself thinking more and more of Him who we celebrate. But, the thing I have thought most about is the fact that we barely celebrate Him at all.
If you took a survey about Christmas, especially among Christians, you would hear that it is the season in which we celebrate His birth. Yet, so much of the things going on around me have very little to do with Him.
It saddens me.
I have kids and I get so excited about buying them things. I look forward to seeing them showered with gifts on Christmas morning. We talk alot about their wish list almost daily and I'm so thankful for a time when I can focus on them in a way I'm not able to other times of the year.
But, what does any of that have to do with Christ?
Everything!!
Why do I shower them in gifts every December 25th? Is it because Santa deemed them worthy and I got the go ahead from him? Could they have possibly been good enough to earn such wealth of things? And what exactly is "good enough". What is the standard there?
I can tell you it is not because anyone deemed them good, it is not because they earned it, and it certainly is not because they met the standard of any man on this earth. I hope they never aim to meet the standards of the world. It is because I love them the way Christ loves me and it is because He gave me the greatest gift I could ever ask for........His life.
You see, I could never be good enough, could never earn what I've been given, could never meet the standards set for me. But, God knew that, so He set a plan in motion to redeem me. That redemption came through Christ. It is because of that Gift that I shower my kids in gifts. I want them to understand what unearned love is like. I want them to know how to accept free gifts and then to live lives in gratitude to the giver.
This is my goal. I want to live in response to the gift I've been given. I want my children to do the same.
Please be reminded this season that there is so much more to celebrating Christmas than a man in a red suit. He is fun, but he is not eternal. He may be known for giving gifts and doing good for others, but he didn't give his life in death so that you and I could live. That is Christ and He deserves the glory!!
Here are some scriptures to help us remember what He has done for us:
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Romans 3:23-24
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
For grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17
Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15
