Remember What Christmas Really Is About, Not What It Has Become
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘Know also that wisdom is like honey for you: If you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.’ (Proverbs 24:14); ‘But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.’ (Micah 7:7)
I must admit, unashamedly, that I am not a big Christmas fan. I am not a fan of the hype or the commercialization of ‘the season’. It is not the ‘most wonderful time of the year’ for me personally, and I’m sure some (though likely not very many) may share the same feeling. I am rather ‘bah-humbug’, and although having the long hair and beard, am not a ‘jolly old elf’ – I will ‘OH-OH-OH’ as an ‘anti-Claus’ claxon and move along waiting for 26 December to come quickly. I will watch ‘Christmas Story’, ‘Christmas Vacation’ and ‘Die Hard’ (my favorite Christmas movies) and ‘Charlie Brown’s Christmas’ if I can catch them, but please don’t offer me eggnog (yuck!) or figgy pudding (bleh!). Christmas cookies… ok.
However, I do understand, having been a kid myself many decades ago, the excitement of anticipation of opening wrapped gifts under the tree and later seeing that same excitement from my own children and grandchildren. I also do not begrudge others from their happiness and joy in the Christmas season, and I know many gain much joy in what we can give, whether it is the Christmas Shoeboxes for OCC, stocking up the pantries for the family holiday baskets, or the angel tree gifts for a young child.
But know and remember what Christmas is really about; it is not about what Christmas is now made up to be by the advertisers or big box stores, or the syrupy Christmas stories on TV or movies. What Christmas is about is the Hope – that eternal Hope that we have received through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is not about what ‘Christmas’ has come to be but about what comes from Christ as a result of His birth in that manger or alcove 2,027 years ago.
The wisdom of having captured that Hope, the Salvation Jesus promises those who accept Him and that Salvation is permanent and unending, is true Joy of what Christmas is really about. God gave His only Son for us, a part of Himself to show He understands us, loves us, and to give us that Hope and a future He promised in Jeremiah 29:11 – if only we accept that gift!
Micah, in the midst of despair over the impending fall of Judah, prophesized and had great Joy in the coming of Jesus that would occur 700 years later. His Hope was not in the secular world he lived in, the decadence that would bring down Israel and Judah but in the coming of Christ to offer Salvation. His focus was not on the hype that surrounded him, the propping up of a Jerusalem built through a façade of pseudo-righteousness upheld by unsavory business and religious practices, but of the solid foundation of God and His Word, and God’s Plan to reconcile His people. Micah understood that Hope and future his contemporary Jeremiah was going to write about – if only the people would accept that gift!
If you truly feel Joy and contentment with the trapping of Christmas, may the Lord bless you and give His joy abundantly. But look past the hype and the commercialization that Christmas has become, and look for the true ‘reason for the season’, and celebrate Jesus, our Christ!
