I recently had a great conversation with a friend who was from a different denomination than I and she noted that they didn’t celebrate Christmas.
After further discussion, I understood why they felt that way but I didn’t necessarily agree wholeheartedly.
I agreed that Jesus was not born on 25 December, the day a majority of the Western world celebrates Christmas but I disagreed that his birth should not be celebrated.
Clearly, the bible does show that HIS birth was celebrated and rejoiced over (Luke 2:8-20) and gifts were given (Matthew 2:1-12).
The question though is how do you celebrate Christmas?
Is your focus on the gifts or THE Gift.
Is it on rushing to buy presents, planning the parties or the usual crazy?
Today, we celebrate the day by being busy, spending money we may not have and in many cases never singing, rejoicing and praising God for THE Gift of HIS Son.
That is what Christmas should be. It should be about rejoicing and giving our Father all the praise. It should be about displaying the love of Jesus Christ with our fellow humans by giving to the poor, oppressed and orphans.
Food for thought: There is no problem with giving gifts and eating with family, the real issue is where in our priorities does that live with Jesus coming first. If Christ is not first in your motivations and actions for Christmas then it really isn’t CHRISTmas at all.
Prayer: Holy Father, forgive us. Forgive us for not putting you first and attending to our own selfish needs and desires to please others. Your words tell us to seek you first above all things and you shall grant us the desires of our heart. Renew our hearts and minds Lord that we will be more Christ focus and not self-focused. In Jesus name. Amen
May God’s mercy, grace and peace be with you.