How many of you have got your Christmas Shopping done?
If you were in my office right now you would notice that my hand did not go up. Some people love the idea of Christmas shopping. Have you ever seen the ad on TV where a mother excitedly wakes up her son to say, “It’s time.” And off she goes to Walmart with a zest of over-excitement and picks up one item after the other off the shelves.
Now, maybe you fall into this category of a happy Christmas shopper, but to be honest I would be assigned to the group who just doesn’t get much joy from the experience.
My biggest excuse is that I don’t know what to buy, after all, to be honest, people have for the most part all that they really need. I guess the other reason I don’t like joining the ranks of the over-joyful Christmas shopper is because there are a lot of mixed messages out there when it comes to Christmas.
On the one hand, you have people who for whatever reason have a hard time saying, “Merry Christmas.” They prefer to say, “the holidays” or “the season.” I wish someone could explain this one to me because without Christ there is no Christmas.
The other confusing message that has been put out there recently is a program that has been airing on the History channel, it’s called, Bible Secrets Revealed. This program states that none of those who wrote the gospel accounts ever met Jesus. Not true. Matthew and John who wrote two of the gospels for instance were disciples of Jesus and they should know the Christmas story don’t you think?
This program also states that the idea of Jesus being born of a virgin is a misinterpretation. The thing is, if it was a misinterpretation, then we wouldn’t have Christmas because Christmas is about a miracle God performed.
So what is the real message of Christmas? It’s a message of God’s love for mankind. You may say, “I think God is someone who’s waiting for people to mess up.” But I believe God is a good God who takes a personal interest in all of us. He saw that we needed help to deal with our mistakes, our sins and our guilt.
So He sent His Son, Jesus, to be with us, to show us what God’s love is really like and then He died for us so that our sins could be paid for and so we could be forgiven.
Sounds like a good deal to me, don’t you think? I believe in a God who loves you more than you could ever imagine. For what other reason would Jesus be born into this world that first Christmas? It’s because He loves you. There is no other reason than that. And we all want to know we’re loved, right? The reason we are to celebrate Christmas to respond to God’s great demonstration of love and to say thank you for all that God has done and continues to do for us if we will just make the choice to trust Him... one step at a time.
So if you like Christmas shopping, that’s great. Knock yourself out. Maybe you and I will pass each other in Walmart. I will be the one with the list in my hand and hurry in my steps, with a face to match. Celebrate Christmas, but don’t let others make up your mind as to what it’s all about. Avoid the confusing messages out there. Rather visit a church on a Sunday morning during the month of December or a Christmas Eve Service.
This column is submitted by Tri-Community Baptist Church in Beiseker.
