Keeping Christ in Christmas, Or Not

December 16th, 2013

…“Look! I bring good news to you—wonderful, joyous news for all people. Your savior is born today in David’s city. He is Christ the Lord.”

Luke 2:10-11

I have noticed a trend among Christians in the pulpit and in social media this holiday season. It goes something like this…

One person makes a comment stating, “Let’s keep Christ in Christmas.” Then another one says, “Christ isn’t just relegated to the Christmas season. Christ should be a part of our everyday lives.” Someone says, “How do you help your children remember the significance of the Christmas season?” And another one says, “Our faith is more than just one holiday in the year. We should be teaching children about Christ all the time.”

To some extent it isn’t anything new. Christians have been discussing how to celebrate Christmas for years. On the one hand you have Christians who believe that in order to keep the holiday holy, they have to “get back to the basics.” Therefore, they choose not to play Santa. They don’t put up a Christmas tree. They don’t give gifts. On the other hand, you have some Christians who embrace the holidays with such enthusiasm that the religious significance seems to be reduced to the cute nativity scene on the mantel or their attendance at the children’s performance at church.

Then you have a whole lot of us in the middle, who enjoy putting up Christmas decorations, singing Christmas carols (even secular ones like “Jingle Bells”) and watching Santa movies, as well as participating in biblical Advent activities, doing charitable acts of service, and going to Christmas concerts at church.

Christ in Christmas, even among Christians, seems to have turned into an argument of some sort. And it shouldn’t be.

Obviously, Christ is not like Santa. He is not Someone to be pulled out and dusted off once a year, to be put on display until we take down the tree. Jesus is not just the baby whose birth we celebrate at Christmas. He is the Savior, the Son of God, whose birth, life, death and resurrection gives us the Gospel good news. Of course, we need to worship Him all year long. Of course, we need to teach our children about Him every day of the year. There isn’t any argument there.

In the same way, however, Christmas offers a special season to commemorate the love of God as demonstrated to us through the gift of Jesus Christ. Just like we love our children all year and still celebrate their birthdays, Christmas offers us a special time—not an exclusive time—to offer praise and worship and to rejoice in Him.

While we live our daily lives trying to serve and worship our Lord, Christmas offers a special season in which we can celebrate His arrival in human form on this earth. It also offers some special challenges. Keeping Christ in Christmas can be especially difficult given all the hoopla. Children (and adults too) can get so caught up in the party atmosphere that they fail to remember the reason for the celebration. That’s why we take special time to remember, to reflect, and to rejoice. Keeping Christ in Christmas is not a segregation of Christ from the everyday, it’s a supplement to His daily presence.

So, this year, instead of being divisive, let’s take time to show the world the true Spirit of Christmas love. Let’s forget about semantics and agree that no matter how we individually choose to celebrate the season, Christ is—and will always be—in Christmas.

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