The Reason for the Season
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
December 23 is the day that, as a child waiting excitedly for Christ, I referred to as “Christmas Eve Eve”. To children Christmas is all about presents and Santa Claus. Even though Christian parents attempt to emphasize Jesus’ birth, the gifts and glee usually win out over the real reason for the season. However, many adults fare no better when it comes to celebrating the most important birthday ever. There’s the shopping and the cooking and the decorating and the parties and so on and on. You know you have missed the true meaning of the day when the Christmas season becomes something to dread because of all the tasks and deadlines. Giving gifts when you feel obligated to give them rather than just because you want to bless someone is another indication that the true spirit of Christmas has been overshadowed by all the secular trappings of the holiday.
Christmas also becomes a day to dread by those who are lonely as they remember past Christmases that were joyful and happy, but now have just become another day to get through. And then there are those folks who perhaps had a rough childhood and never really experienced the joy and fellowship of family and friends at Christmastime. The day that we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior, is not the “most wonderful time of the year” for everyone for various reasons. One of the main reasons for dissatisfaction at Christmas is because we don’t focus on the real reason that we should be celebrating–the birth of God’s Son who came into the world to show us how to live and to provide the way to eternal life. Jesus is the One whose birthday we are celebrating, but sometimes He doesn’t even get invited to His own birthday party.
What if God had not sent His Son into the world for the redemption of mankind? I don’t think that it would have made much difference in the way that the holiday is celebrated among the unbelieving world. They would have just given it a different name and continued with the hustle and bustle that defines this time of year for them. However, for those of us who have realized that we are sinners in need of a Savior, it would have made all the difference in the world and in eternity.
Keep Christ in Christmas, for without Him, nothing is worth celebrating.