Please personally reflect what your response would be as you read the following scenarios that speak of a Christmas experience that I hope you will never identify with or experience.
- What if you were physically unable to hang your Christmas decorations inside or outside of your house, would the meaning of Christmas be the same for you?
- What if you were far away from family and could not be with them on Christmas day, would you still celebrate Christmas?
- How would you feel if someone asked you, what gift are you buying your spouse or a loved one for Christmas and you would have to answer, “I don’t know yet”, not because you did not have something in mind, but you did not have the financial means to purchase even the humblest of gifts?
We all do different things to celebrate Christmas and have our yearly traditions and customs that put a special meaning to our Christmas celebration each year. Even though we might not identify with one of those previously mentioned scenarios, the fact is most likely we will come in contact or might even know someone who can relate to and or will experience Christmas this year in one way that was stated.
What is it that we as Christians, who have Jesus, God’s eternal Christmas gift in our lives, can do to take advantage of the Christmas season to tell others about the true meaning of Christmas? How can we exemplify this true meaning of Christmas to others around us by what we say and do?
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” Ephesians 2:8
The true meaning of Christmas is not experienced by (even though they are very important to us) those who we spend it with. Nor does the true meaning of Christmas depend on how we choose to express it with its many different traditional decorations. The true meaning of Christmas is not based on what we can or cannot give as gifts or by what gifts we do or do not receive.
The point I want to convey is; let us not forget that keeping Christ in Christmas starts with us keeping the true meaning of Christmas, (Christ) in our hearts and lives as we celebrate this holiday. Which (or I should say Who) is expressed to others by what we say and demonstrated by what we do.
The following are some excerpts from a book authored by Lisa Whelchel to help us keep Christ the center focal point behind three of our Christmas traditions.
Pastor John
15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. 1 Peter 3:15-16
Christmas Day
The Romans called it Saturnalia, which means “the birthday of the unconquerable sun,” and they celebrated it in a big way! They spent an entire week feasting and worshiping their false gods, and they capped it off with the biggest and wildest party of all. That party was held on December 25th.
But something happened in A.D. 313 that would change everything. Those seven evil days of idol worship and over-the-top parties would disappear from the Roman calendar, and December 25th would move out of the dark shadows of pagan worship into the light of God’s truth and love. How did this happen?
In the year A.D. 313, the Roman emperor Constantine became a follower of Jesus Christ. As a believer, Constantine was disturbed by his people’s worship of false gods. Acting on his concern, Constantine declared December 25th the Feast of the Nativity. And when a Roman emperor declares something, it gets done!
In the years that followed, the Feast of the Nativity would become “Christ-mass,” which eventually became our Christmas. It shouldn’t surprise us that something dark and evil has been transformed into a day characterized by radiant light, selfless giving, and sacrificial love. Romans 12:21 says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (NIV).”
More than likely Jesus was not actually born on December 25th. But given the fact that it is around this date that darkness prevails with the year’s longest night and the sun begins a new cycle, it’s a grand time to celebrate the birthday of the Son. Proclaiming and reclaiming December 25th gives an opportunity for God’s light of truth to chase away the blackest of shadows, revealing the true “Sun of Righteousness.”
Giving Gifts
Many believe that the custom of giving gifts at Christmas began with the wise men who came to Bethlehem bearing lavish gifts for the Christ child. Is it true? Well, yes and no.
Why did these powerful, learned men journey across the wide world to give extravagant presents to a child? Because Someone else gave first. God had already given the world the incomprehensible gift of His own Son.
Perhaps the most famous verse in the Bible, John 3:16, explains why God gave such a gift: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” Not coincidentally, First John 3:16 tells us, “We know what real love is because Christ gave up his life for us.” God gave His Son, and the Son gave His life for us. Giving is the beginning, the end, and the very heart of Christmas.
So give and give and give some more, and every chance you have, give to someone as if you were giving to Jesus Himself. Giving is an act of obedience, but it comes with a promise of blessing. Jesus said, “If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use in giving-large or small it will be used to measure what is given back to you” (Luke 6:38).
The Christmas Tree
It is said that in the seventh century a zealous young English missionary was the first person to use the evergreen tree as a symbol for God. Winfrid, who would later become known as Saint Boniface, used the tree as an object lesson. He taught that each point on the triangular-shaped tree represented a different Person of the Holy Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Legend has it that one day Winfrid came upon a group of men offering a sacrifice to an oak tree as an act of worship. So angered was he by this idolatry that Winfrid swung his ax and felled the oak tree with one mighty blow. According to the tale, a fir tree eventually grew from the stump of the oak. Struck by this occurrence, the missionary proclaimed that the tiny new tree represented Jesus’ victory over death on the cross and the eternal life made available to us by the King of kings.
The Christmas tree is a beautiful reminder of why Jesus was born in the first place—to die for you and me. “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24, NIV). As we put up the Christmas tree in our homes, it can only deepen our joy if we remember His death at this time of His birth. It is because He died for us that we can receive the eternal life represented by the evergreen boughs.
Have you ever noticed that the boughs of your tree extend out like the arms of Jesus stretched upon the cross as He offered His life to anyone Who would come to Him in faith? And your Christmas tree is very definitely pointing toward heaven and, as Jesus did with His words and His actions, drawing our attention to the Father who loves us.
