I find it almost comical how far the world strives to blur truth from reality when it comes to holidays important to the Christian faith. Christmas is supposed to be about celebrating the birth of a baby who forever changed the world He just became a part of. Instead it’s about Santa and reindeer and presents and lights and all of these other things; it seems we’re so far removed from the real reason of Christmas at times. On the other hand, the world will also acknowledge the true meaning as they sing carols, proclaiming Christ’s birth. It seems that Christmas is the only time of year where it’s not infringing on personal freedoms or separation of church and state to talk about Jesus or sing about Him.
It can be so easy to become wrapped up in gift giving and all the other things we associate with Christmas that we lose sight of what it’s really all about. It IS about giving; God gave us the gift of His Son yet I think we sometimes feel like we have to spend all kinds of money, go on a hunt for the ‘perfect’ gift, cover our house with lights, decorate every inch of yard with inflatable characters along with plastic nativities (my favorite is Santa kneeling at the manger – don’t quite get that) and whatever else. What happened to family gathering together and simply enjoying the closeness and love provided by such an atmosphere? No matter how much money is spent on gifts, there’s no amount that can buy happiness. We’ve diluted Christmas down to money instead of the priceless gift we all received, if we’re willing to accept it.
I hope that we can disentangle ourselves from Hollywood’s picture of Christmas and refocus back on the real meaning. It’s like a box within a box. At the very center is a tiny box representing Jesus but it’s inside box after box that we sometimes forgets it’s there and even add another box to the many layers. Let’s take the time to peel away the layers and embrace the timeless story of a baby in a manger who is the perfect picture of love.
It can be so easy to become wrapped up in gift giving and all the other things we associate with Christmas that we lose sight of what it’s really all about. It IS about giving; God gave us the gift of His Son yet I think we sometimes feel like we have to spend all kinds of money, go on a hunt for the ‘perfect’ gift, cover our house with lights, decorate every inch of yard with inflatable characters along with plastic nativities (my favorite is Santa kneeling at the manger – don’t quite get that) and whatever else. What happened to family gathering together and simply enjoying the closeness and love provided by such an atmosphere? No matter how much money is spent on gifts, there’s no amount that can buy happiness. We’ve diluted Christmas down to money instead of the priceless gift we all received, if we’re willing to accept it.
I hope that we can disentangle ourselves from Hollywood’s picture of Christmas and refocus back on the real meaning. It’s like a box within a box. At the very center is a tiny box representing Jesus but it’s inside box after box that we sometimes forgets it’s there and even add another box to the many layers. Let’s take the time to peel away the layers and embrace the timeless story of a baby in a manger who is the perfect picture of love.
Word.
ReplyDeleteThe One who was in the beginning, who was with God... who was God. The One who became flesh and dwelt among us.
That Word.