We all have fond memories of Christmas time from our pasts. There is a certain nostalgia we feel when we hear a certain song, or see a decorated tree, or see twinkling lights. My current favorite is seeing houses with lights programmed to change with the beat of certain Christmas songs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1fZn3RTTzg). There’s something about Christmas that just makes us feel good. Often this is what is described as the “Christmas spirit.” And because of the stress in our lives, or maybe because recollection of past events always seems more enjoyable than they actually were, it seems harder each year to recapture that feeling. We seem to harden to those things that brought us happiness in the past, and we long for “the good ‘ol days.”
One of the things I love about this particular play is that it so clearly defines what the true Christmas spirit is. As Bart tells my character (Bill) in the play: feelings, like human love, can change as quickly as the blowing wind. Feelings change and fade, thus we feel like it is dying inside us. And literally, it is, because we have focused on the wrong thing! But the Christmas spirit is so much more than a feeling. It is literally the spirit of Christ, who embodied truth and perfect love. It is knowledge of, an acceptance of, and a trust in, Jesus Christ. The Christmas spirit is truly joy in this sense because it does not rely upon time of year, music, a tree, or anything else. It is joyful because it is eternal; it does not change. We know Christ came to earth to become a man, becoming just like you and me so that he could live and do something we could not do on our own: be perfectly obedient and pleasing to God. What’s more, he was literally born to die, and not just any death. His death on the cross satisfied the judgment of God that was due us. Now we are free from the curse of God’s judgment! This is true, everlasting, joy! I’ll quote the oft forgotten third verse of the classic Christmas song, Joy to the World:
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
One of the things I love about this particular play is that it so clearly defines what the true Christmas spirit is. As Bart tells my character (Bill) in the play: feelings, like human love, can change as quickly as the blowing wind. Feelings change and fade, thus we feel like it is dying inside us. And literally, it is, because we have focused on the wrong thing! But the Christmas spirit is so much more than a feeling. It is literally the spirit of Christ, who embodied truth and perfect love. It is knowledge of, an acceptance of, and a trust in, Jesus Christ. The Christmas spirit is truly joy in this sense because it does not rely upon time of year, music, a tree, or anything else. It is joyful because it is eternal; it does not change. We know Christ came to earth to become a man, becoming just like you and me so that he could live and do something we could not do on our own: be perfectly obedient and pleasing to God. What’s more, he was literally born to die, and not just any death. His death on the cross satisfied the judgment of God that was due us. Now we are free from the curse of God’s judgment! This is true, everlasting, joy! I’ll quote the oft forgotten third verse of the classic Christmas song, Joy to the World:
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found, Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.
So how do you keep the Christmas spirit alive? You start by focusing on the right things from now on. We celebrate Christmas with songs, a tree, and gifts. This is our response to what God has done for us. But the spirit of Christmas is knowing who Jesus Christ is and finding joy in the fact that he came to this earth to save us. When you consider that we can spend eternity in heaven with God only because of this, you will feel the true spirit of Christmas alive within you.
So how do you keep the Christmas spirit alive? You start by focusing on the right things from now on. We celebrate Christmas with songs, a tree, and gifts. This is our response to what God has done for us. But the spirit of Christmas is knowing who Jesus Christ is and finding joy in the fact that he came to this earth to save us. When you consider that we can spend eternity in heaven with God only because of this, you will feel the true spirit of Christmas alive within you.
1 comment:
Christmas is the biggest time of year in America. We are very much wrapped up in our culture.
I remember when I was younger how big Christmas seemed to me. The parties seemed more exciting and bigger than today. The tree seemed bigger. The pile of presents seemed bigger. The church seemed bigger. You get the point.
Christmas in America has been developed as the BIG time of the year. We will spend 500 billion dollars on gifts and 15 billion on Christmas decorations this year alone! Amazing! We love Christmas.
But there is something more to Christmas. For me, Christmas is a reminder that Jesus is not the reason for the season. Jesus is the reason of our lives.
Christmas wasn't always so big. Actually, Christmas wasn't really anything. It was just another day--a spring day in fact. A spring day, in a small backwater town, in a backwater country, full of disgruntled people in a pagan empire. It was on this very small day, in this very small town, in this very small country, in this very small Empire, on this very small earth that God became man. The bigness of Christmas was found in the smallness of the baby called "Immanuel" God with us--Jesus.
How big is our Christmas? Our Christmas is only as big as the joy we find in the Savior who was born that spring day.
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