I have a feeling that some of what I am writing won't jive well with every one of you. Most of you will agree with all of it, but I don't want you to just agree with me. I want you to be moved to action. That's my purpose for writing.
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of celebrating Christmas? The second thing? Third? For many of us we think of family, gifts, food, (In my opinion; very bad) music that we all know and love, and the sweet lil' Jesus child. I have a strong feeling that the top three things that we associate with Christmas celebrations are in that list. If you are a Christian, and I really hope you are, then those answers are not full enough. Seriously, they aren't, there must be more. The story of Christmas isn't just that o little town of Bethlehem played host to the most miraculous birth the world has ever seen, or that angels we have heard on high proclaimed that birth to poor shepherds tending their flocks by night.
The story of Christmas is that mankind sinned against a holy God and was therefore condemned to be without Him for eternity. A truly holy God cannot accept sin. His hatred of it only speaks to His overwhelming goodness and purity. Mankind, because of it's own failures, was destitute and enslaved to the very sin that brought about it's condemnation. This holy God, the one who created man, looked upon His creation and offered salvation in the form of Himself, the Son, Jesus. That Christmas day, over 2,000 years ago is amazing, not because angels were singing or that wise men were traveling with expensive gifts, but because heaven and earth collided in a glorious way that would bring salvation to sinful man. God provided a way for man to escape righteous wrath and damnation by personally stepping into time and bearing his own wrath so we may be justified to Himself. I have no problem with celebrating the manger but our celebration should never end there. The proper celebration for a Christian should always go to the cross and the empty grave. Paul never boasts in the manger, he boasts only in the cross of Christ. He never celebrates the birth of Christ, but makes much of His death and resurrection. Christ's birth means nothing without the cross.The cross is a nasty, ugly symbol of death and is totally opposite from what American society thinks about Christmas, but it is the fulfillment of Christmas.
So when we, Christians, think of Christmas, we should always consider the cross. If Jesus really was born, lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death, was raised on the third day, defeated death and sin, and awaits the promised time when he will reconcile all of creation... if this is real, it changes everything. For those of use who claim to believe it's real, it has to make a difference in the way that we celebrate the birth. Our celebrations should be vastly different from that of the rest of the world. So what should this look like? How should we be different from the world at Christmas time? I'm not going to sit here and claim that there is a certain way that we should all act. There are certain things that should be different. I have many awesome memories of Christmas as a child but they all revolve around what I received; my presents. My parents did a great job of trying to promote the story of Christ every year, but looking back, I don't think what we did was the best way to celebrate Christ. But it didn't matter how often I was serenaded with the name of Jesus and the fact that He is the greatest gift the world has ever gotten, I always merely looked forward to the gifts under the tree. I know this was mostly a personal heart issue that I had, and continue to struggle with, but I think there is a better way of going about celebrating Christ.
I didn't need a single thing I've ever received for Christmas. Half of it was stuff that I didn't even want until I got it and then 3 weeks later I didn't care about it anymore. Why is it that we have allowed the materialism of our culture to invade our worship of Christ? How about instead of just giving gifts to our happy families, while we sit around a Christmas tree that is decked out with all kinds of bling, we go out and serve those who have actual needs? Instead of proclaiming to ourselves the good news that the angels brought to the shepherds, shouldn't we proclaim it to the lost? Wouldn't that be a much better picture of the way Christ has changed us than exchanging needless gifts with each other? We have one purpose for existing: displaying the glory of God; we are here to share the gospel with the world. The traditional gift giving ceremony isn't a great way of accomplishing that purpose. I hear too many Christians complain that America is quickly going down the moral drain without realizing that we are huge contributors to the problem. We have succumbed to the idols of materialism and greed and have forgotten that we have been given gifts by God so we may share them with the world; namely the gift of the Gospel. I'm not calling for a redistribution of wealth or anything silly like that but for God's people to make a stand and display His love to the earth in ways that don't make sense to our culture. Be the difference in the world. Be love to the broken. Bring healing to the hurting. Take the Gospel to the lost.
Make the Gospel the gift you give. Let that be your motivation and purpose. Helping the poor without the gospel is like putting a band-aid over a cannon wound. At the same time, proclaiming the Gospel without taking care of physical needs is also pointless. We must do both. So this Christmas, do something radical. Go feed the homeless. Invite a poor family into your house and use those gifts under the tree to bless them in amazing and unexpected ways. But most of all make sure Jesus gets all of the glory and praise from whatever you do. Let your celebration be focused on the distribution of the Gospel. #beChristlikethischristmas
(P. S. I'm not against giving gifts to those we love. I think it is important to do so, but we have let that become way too important during Christmas. Christmas should always, and only, be about taking the amazing, beautiful Gospel to those around us.)
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of celebrating Christmas? The second thing? Third? For many of us we think of family, gifts, food, (In my opinion; very bad) music that we all know and love, and the sweet lil' Jesus child. I have a strong feeling that the top three things that we associate with Christmas celebrations are in that list. If you are a Christian, and I really hope you are, then those answers are not full enough. Seriously, they aren't, there must be more. The story of Christmas isn't just that o little town of Bethlehem played host to the most miraculous birth the world has ever seen, or that angels we have heard on high proclaimed that birth to poor shepherds tending their flocks by night.
The story of Christmas is that mankind sinned against a holy God and was therefore condemned to be without Him for eternity. A truly holy God cannot accept sin. His hatred of it only speaks to His overwhelming goodness and purity. Mankind, because of it's own failures, was destitute and enslaved to the very sin that brought about it's condemnation. This holy God, the one who created man, looked upon His creation and offered salvation in the form of Himself, the Son, Jesus. That Christmas day, over 2,000 years ago is amazing, not because angels were singing or that wise men were traveling with expensive gifts, but because heaven and earth collided in a glorious way that would bring salvation to sinful man. God provided a way for man to escape righteous wrath and damnation by personally stepping into time and bearing his own wrath so we may be justified to Himself. I have no problem with celebrating the manger but our celebration should never end there. The proper celebration for a Christian should always go to the cross and the empty grave. Paul never boasts in the manger, he boasts only in the cross of Christ. He never celebrates the birth of Christ, but makes much of His death and resurrection. Christ's birth means nothing without the cross.The cross is a nasty, ugly symbol of death and is totally opposite from what American society thinks about Christmas, but it is the fulfillment of Christmas.
So when we, Christians, think of Christmas, we should always consider the cross. If Jesus really was born, lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death, was raised on the third day, defeated death and sin, and awaits the promised time when he will reconcile all of creation... if this is real, it changes everything. For those of use who claim to believe it's real, it has to make a difference in the way that we celebrate the birth. Our celebrations should be vastly different from that of the rest of the world. So what should this look like? How should we be different from the world at Christmas time? I'm not going to sit here and claim that there is a certain way that we should all act. There are certain things that should be different. I have many awesome memories of Christmas as a child but they all revolve around what I received; my presents. My parents did a great job of trying to promote the story of Christ every year, but looking back, I don't think what we did was the best way to celebrate Christ. But it didn't matter how often I was serenaded with the name of Jesus and the fact that He is the greatest gift the world has ever gotten, I always merely looked forward to the gifts under the tree. I know this was mostly a personal heart issue that I had, and continue to struggle with, but I think there is a better way of going about celebrating Christ.
I didn't need a single thing I've ever received for Christmas. Half of it was stuff that I didn't even want until I got it and then 3 weeks later I didn't care about it anymore. Why is it that we have allowed the materialism of our culture to invade our worship of Christ? How about instead of just giving gifts to our happy families, while we sit around a Christmas tree that is decked out with all kinds of bling, we go out and serve those who have actual needs? Instead of proclaiming to ourselves the good news that the angels brought to the shepherds, shouldn't we proclaim it to the lost? Wouldn't that be a much better picture of the way Christ has changed us than exchanging needless gifts with each other? We have one purpose for existing: displaying the glory of God; we are here to share the gospel with the world. The traditional gift giving ceremony isn't a great way of accomplishing that purpose. I hear too many Christians complain that America is quickly going down the moral drain without realizing that we are huge contributors to the problem. We have succumbed to the idols of materialism and greed and have forgotten that we have been given gifts by God so we may share them with the world; namely the gift of the Gospel. I'm not calling for a redistribution of wealth or anything silly like that but for God's people to make a stand and display His love to the earth in ways that don't make sense to our culture. Be the difference in the world. Be love to the broken. Bring healing to the hurting. Take the Gospel to the lost.
Make the Gospel the gift you give. Let that be your motivation and purpose. Helping the poor without the gospel is like putting a band-aid over a cannon wound. At the same time, proclaiming the Gospel without taking care of physical needs is also pointless. We must do both. So this Christmas, do something radical. Go feed the homeless. Invite a poor family into your house and use those gifts under the tree to bless them in amazing and unexpected ways. But most of all make sure Jesus gets all of the glory and praise from whatever you do. Let your celebration be focused on the distribution of the Gospel. #beChristlikethischristmas
(P. S. I'm not against giving gifts to those we love. I think it is important to do so, but we have let that become way too important during Christmas. Christmas should always, and only, be about taking the amazing, beautiful Gospel to those around us.)
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