One of my favorite Christmas films as a child was A Charlie Brown Christmas. It featured the song Christmas Time Is Here at the introduction. To me, the song has summed up that spirit of Christmas quite well. The happiness and cheer is not just because of the snow, or the presents or the family being around. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if people could finally see that, truly, the reason for joy at Christmas is because the holiday is centered around the birth of the Son of God, the prince of peace, the God of all comfort, and the only one who loved the world enough to die for all of its sins.
Presents are great, and family is one of the blessings that come directly from God for which we should be truly thankful. Snow is such a joy as well (at least to children, haha), but whoever decided to place the time of Christ’s birth in December, while it was most likely not his actual time of birth, did the world a great service. For, if we celebrate his birth in December, the darkest and coldest month of the year, we must inevitably make the connection that at the world’s darkest time, and in the moment of our darkest sins, the Light of the World decided to come and be born of a virgin, with the express purpose of dying for the sins of the world, so he could take our place in Hell temporarily on the cross, and we could be made the righteousness of God in him.
If we put presents and family as the being the arbiters of the reason and spirit of Christmas, we have lost our collective sight of the truth. We can’t put the gift above the giver. For God so LOVED the world that he GAVE his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should NOT perish but have everlasting life. Jesus is the reason for the season, and if we embrace that fact, and remember the giver, while realizing that the greatest gift is not under the tree, but rather in our hearts if we have accepted the gift of salvation, then I believe we will experience a joy that is more full this Christmas time. God bless you all and Merry CHRISTmas.
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