I should be used to it by now…
but it still astounds me that a holiday with the name of CHRIST prominently in it, can be celebrated in ways that ignore Him completely.
I’m talking about CHRISTmas.
- Hallmark channel movies make Christmas into a sappy excursion into “magical” romance.
- Businesses make it about shopping.
- The general public makes Christmas about family, good feelings, and giving (they’re getting closer).
- And everywhere you look there’s a fat guy in a red suit who “Ho, ho, ho”s his way into almost every mention of this sacred celebration.
I’m beginning to suspect that our culture is becoming increasingly allergic to the baby Jesus, born in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago.
And I’m pretty sure I’m right about that.
Jesus Himself, quoting the Psalmist (Psalm 35:19), said (in John 15:25)…
They hated me without cause.
There is a reason people don’t want to mention Jesus at Christmas, and it’s really a pretty simple reason.
If any man, woman, boy, or girl acknowledges Jesus was born of a virgin over 2000 years ago, they must also acknowledge…
- their own sin
- their own neediness
- their own helplessness
and there aren’t many of us who care to admit such things.
But I for one am glad to admit those thins… and thousands of others…
Because doing so sets me free.
It sets me free from the expectation that I have to have it all together.
It sets me free from the pressure to earn God’s acceptance through being good or doing right.
It sets me free to admit that I am hopelessly helpless… unless God does something to rescue me.
And it allows me to be free to admit that He did exactly that… over 2000 years ago, through the birth of Jesus.
My prayer for you, this CHRISTmas season, is that you will be given the gift of humility that allows you to admit your own need and accept God’s own lavish gift of His Son, God-in-the-flesh, Immanuel, Jesus… so that you too can be free.
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