“O come, all ye faithful; Joyful and triumphant. O come ye, o come ye to Bethlehem. Come and behold Him. Born the King of Angels! O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him. Christ the Lord”
Christmas is special. It’s a seemingly simple story, a baby born in a manger, but it changed everything. The birth of Jesus meant the Messiah had come. Jesus’ birth broke the separation between God and man. His coming was anything but simple; it changed everything then and everything for us today.
Christmas has become hyper-commercialized. It’s hard to not get caught up in the magic of the season. Most of us love this season and yet we really struggle to break from our traditions. Sadly, the holiday is becoming mostly about parties, sweets, decorations, and a pile of presents that puts last year’s to shame. But that is not what Christmas is about.
We can take steps to redeem Christmas. Amidst all the commercialization, and the glazed-look of holiday shoppers faces, we can remember that, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” Christmas is not about buying gifts. Christmas is a birthday. And not just any birthday. But the birthday of Jesus Christ the Messiah, the Savior of the world.
All the fanfare around Christmas prompts a simple, but convicting question: Why am I was so focused on myself during someone else’s birthday celebration? I am not the reason for the season, Jesus is. In all of the hustle and bustle of doing things for Jesus I somehow was forgetting to connect with Jesus.
As Christmas gets closer, it is important to take time to focus and connect with Jesus on a personal level. Yeah, it is a busy time of the year, but it is a time that we celebrate the birth of the Messiah. We’re running and we’re rushing and I wonder if we can hear our Father’s voice from heaven if he would sound something like this: “Hey, hey, hey. It’s called Christmas because it’s about Christ.” It’s not called Giftmas or Decorationmas or Perfect Family Picturemas.
Since we are celebrating His birthday, it is appropriate for us to give Him a gift. For those of us that have children we realize that time spent with our kids is more valuable than any gift they can buy for us. So, consider giving Jesus the gift of your time. It doesn’t even have to be large quantities of time, but just being aware and connecting with Him in the moments of your day. As you are doing your job, or going to school, etc., connect with Him is some small way. This is His birthday. Make sure that you take some time to make it about Him.
This Christmas find a quiet room, lock the door, leave the phone in your pocket. I want you to breathe in and breathe out and think, “It’s about Jesus.”
Discussion Question:
- What have you done to celebrate Christmas the last few years? What are you going to do different this year?
- Name two ways you will focus on jesus this holiday season?