The Christmas season can be such a joy-filled time of year with the decorations, the songs, the time spent with family, the gifts, and a calming sense of peace and hope. However, it can also be an ugly time of year filled with ingratitude, pushing and shoving, griping and complaining, and an overwhelming sense of hustle and bustle. The difference between these two experiences is simple: Christ. A beautiful Christmas is one in which Christ is the center.
The Christmas presents take a back seat to His presence. The first Christmas was celebrated in a stable—basically a barn filled with animals and hay. On His birthday, our Saviour, the King of kings, was not arrayed in royal apparel.. Instead, He was wrapped in swaddling clothes, the bands normally used to cover the dead. There were no shiny decorations or delicious feasts to enjoy, but there was great joy for the great Hope born that day. Christ’s presence was all that was needed; it was all that mattered.
You cannot have Christmas without Christ. Without Christ, all you have is “mas.” In Spanish, the word más means more. Without Christ, all that is left is more: more chaos, more depression, and more aggravation. The world is always looking for more, but at what expense? In this case—in most cases, if we are honest—Christ is the expense. We can become so distracted by the gifts, the decorations, the food, and the festivities that we neglect the reason for Christmas. Some have even gone so far as to actually cross out the “Christ” in Christmas to celebrate “Xmas.”
As we are in the heart of the Christmas season, let us take a step back to remember its true reason. The King of kings left His home in Heaven, was born a lowly child, lived a sinless life, and shed His own blood for our souls. He was born to die.
This Christmas, I hope you will receive the greatest gift of all—eternal life through Jesus Christ. If you have already received that gift, I hope you will share it with someone else. Most of all, I pray that we never forget to keep Christ in CHRISTmas.
by Crystal Collingsworth
