There has been a century-long debate about
Christmas. Many religious groups, including the World Wide Church of God and
the Assemblies of Yahweh, are opposed to the celebration. The popular claim of
disapproval is because Christmas is said to be of paganistic origin. As such,
the anti-Christmas religions claimed that in fact God clearly opposes Christmas.
I do not want to start a debate here, but I just want to share my own reasons for
celebrating Christmas. It is true that there may be no verse in the Bible to support the celebration of Christmas, but the Bible clearly states that we have one reason to celebrate it. What is important in the lives of true believers is simply realizing that there is a “who” in Christmas, rather than a “what” in Christmas.
The question that each and every true Christian believer should ask, therefore, is “Who do I celebrate this Christmas?”, rather than “What do I celebrate this Christmas?”, and much more, “How do I celebrate Christmas?” Personally, if we believers focus of the “what”, or the “how” of Christmas, then we may be wrong in celebrating it. If we focus on the questions “What can I get this Christmas?”, “How much bonus would I get this Christmas?”, “What shall I cook this Christmas?”, or “How much tip should I give this Christmas?”, then we are missing the point of celebrating it. If we focus on the material gifts and the worldly preparations of Christmas, then we are missing the very reason to celebrate it.
So who is the focus of Christmas and why do we celebrate this “who” of Christmas?
The “who” of Christmas is Jesus Christ, that is why, we have “Christ” in Christmas. Knowing the “who” in Christmas means that we are establishing a personal relationship with Him. As the word Christmas comes from the Old English words “Christes moesse”, which means the “mass or festival of Christ”, then the believers need to understand that only Jesus Christ is celebrated,
venerated, and worshiped in Christmas. Celebrating Christmas is actually celebrating Christ!
Some people believe that although Christmas is the celebration of Christ, they
claimed that the practices of Christmas are paganistic in nature. The Christmas tree is paganistic, the mistletoe, the ringing of bells, the merriment, and even Santa Claus are paganistic and non-scriptural! Everything in Christmas is considered paganistic because its celebration was not even commanded in the Bible in the first place. Because of this, they claim that Christians should never celebrate Christmas at all. Meaning to say, Christian homes should have no nativity scenes, no Christmas decors, no Christimas lights, no parol, nothing paganistic or idolatrous!
If decors or material things concerning Christmas displayed at Christian homes are
considered paganistic, how do we consider our trophies won in basketball games,
or medals garnered for winning the school debate, or even our college diploma? If the celebration of Christmas is indeed paganistic, and Christians should not celebrate its ornaments and symbols, how about our child’s kindergarten graduation, or our daughter’s debut celebration, or our birthday parties? Decors, trophies, plaques, and celebrations about ourselves, our children, our family, our accomplishments, etc., may not be paganistic, but I believe, they are narcissistic! Is God pleased then with the celebration of the self, or of the
exaltation of the self? So it goes to say that believers can not celebrate Christmas because Jesus Christ was never born in December 25, but believers can celebrate themselves and their worldly triumphs with all pomp, jubilation and festivities.
Despite the frowning and disapproval, I continue to celebrate Christmas because I
believe that Jesus Christ is the gift of God to mankind. The reason why I do so is plain and simple. Only Jesus Christ is the main focus of the celebration. Focusing Christ in Christmas is biblical after all (Colossians 1:9-14)!
Once believers understand that Christ is the celebration in Christmas, then having
Christmas trees, no matter how tall, or grandiose and bright they are, is less important. Once we understand that Christ is the celebration in Christmas, then setting December 25th as a family gathering--- singing carols together and giving each other presents, is less important. What is more important is that we celebrate Christ by once again focusing on his purpose why He was born in the flesh and His total obedience to the will of God the Father. Even when we have Christmas trees, Christmas bells, stockings, boughs of mistletoe, among others, in Christmas, they are of far less importance than Jesus Christ Himself. When we celebrate Christmas, we worship and celebrate the spiritual Christ of Christmas, rather than its material symbols.
There is Christ in Christmas.
Jesus Christ showed to the world that God, His Father, loves the world so much that He, being God’s only begotten Son, is a willing sacrifice for the atonement of the world’s sin (1 John 4:10). Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, sent by the Father, in order for us to enjoy
salvation and life eternal. If there is something wrong with Christmas, then it is the fact that the world does not know the Christ of Christmas, and does not realize that the birth of Christ after all, leads to the foot of the Cross and culminates in the throne in Heaven.
Jesus Christ did not remain as the infant Jesus. Jesus Christ grew up as a teacher, a miracle worker, a forgiver of sins, a healer, and a willing sacrificial lamb for the sins of the world. Jesus Christ did not remain in the grave, but He was resurrected from death and now
reigns in Heaven with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
Not celebrating Christmas is a valid reason for people who do not know the Christ
of Christmas. The person of the world does not recognize and accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness for that person, yet confusing to the person because they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14:)
As the world does not know Jesus Christ personally and experientially, He is
designated effortlessly and lazily as merely an “X”, an unknown symbol in Algebra. Such designation is pulling Jesus Christ down to an unknown entity in Christmas. The abbreviation
“Xmas”, thought as sacrilegious by some, is said to be entirely appropriate. The letter X, which is chi, is the first letter in the Greek word for Christ, Χριστός. This may be etymologically accurate, but abbreviating Christ’s name, when it is the name above all names, is still a reflection of how irrelevant, unimportant and unknown He is to the world.
Consider this story of two women who were having lunch in an elegant hotel. They were
approached by a mutual friend who asked the occasion for the meal. One lady replied that they were celebrating the birth of her baby boy. The friend was curious to find out where the baby boy, whose birthday they were celebrating, was. The mother nonchalantly replied, "Oh, you didn't think I would bring my baby boy, did you?"
Is it not sad to celebrate a birthday without the celebrant, is it? But this story paints a good picture of the way Christ is celebrated in Christmas. Without Christ in Christmas, then the
believers should never celebrate Christmas at all!
Who is the Christ in Christmas?
Jack Jayford in his book “Come and Behold Him” enumerated different reasons why believers should celebrate the Christ in Christmas. I picked five most pressing reasons, and added my thoughts into them.
We celebrate the Christ in Christmas because He is the Redeemer.
There is no other Savior the world can expect. Jesus Christ is the only Redeemer and
Savior of the world. The world owes Him the redemption from eternal condemnation through His blood shed on the Cross, even the undeserved forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:14). Without His coming to the world in flesh, as a baby born to an earthly mother, and to
pay the sins of the world through His death in Calvary, then there is no salvation for mankind. There is no redemption from the darkness of sins and the penalty of eternal damnation.
The Daily Bread tells of a story by Paul Lee Tan, a fitting illustration of the meaning of redemption. It tells of an incident in the life of A.J. Gordon while he was pastor of a church in Boston. Pastor Gordon met a young boy in front of the church. The boy was carrying a rusty cage in which several birds fluttered nervously. Pastor Gordon inquired from the boy where he got the birds. The boy claimed that he trapped them out in the field. When Pastor Gordon asked the boy what he intends to do with the birds, the boy told him he will play with them for a while, then will feed them to their old cat. When Pastor Gordon offered to buy the birds, the boy exclaimed, "Mister, you don't want them, they're just little old wild birds and can't sing very
well." Gordon though, was still willing give the boy $2 for the cage and the birds. Finally, the boy agreed, intermittently assuring Gordon that he was making a bad bargain. When the exchange was made and the boy went away whistling happily with his treasure, Gordon opened the door of the rusty cage, and let the struggling creatures soar into the blue. The next Sunday he took the empty cage into the pulpit and used it to illustrate his sermon about Christ's coming to seek and to save the lost -- especially paying for them with His own precious blood. Gordon ended his illustration by saying, "That boy told me the birds were not songsters, but when I released them and they winged their way heavenward, it seemed to me they were singing, 'Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed!"
If we believers do not value our redemption in Jesus Christ, then we do not have the reason to celebrate Christmas at all! But because Jesus came into the world to be our redeemer, so we have all the reasons to celebrate the Christ in Christmas!
We celebrate the Christ in Christmas because He is the Revealer.
All the wonders and the mysteries of God are revealed through Jesus Christ, His Son, who is the image of the invisible God and the firstborn of every creature (Colossians 1:15). Jesus Christ disclosed the heart of God, the nature of God, the ways of God, the will of
God, and the compassion of God through His life and actions.
Jesus Christ revealed the very image of God the Father, that we believers could ever want to understand. He made God the Father known to the world, and Scriptures support His very heart's desire to continually make the world know the Father (John 17:25-26).
Because Jesus Christ came into the world to reveal God’s character and plan, then we have all the other reasons to celebrate the Christ in Christmas!
We celebrate the Christ in Christmas because He is the Creator.
The world world was not only powerfully and divinely created through Jesus Christ
(John 1:3), the world was also created by Him (Colossians 1:16). He created the
heaven and the earth, the visible and the invisible, even the powers and institutions on earth, such that every single entity in heaven and on earth belongs to Him, including you and me.
How would the world believe that Jesus Christ created humans? Only Jesus Christ
knows the heart of humans, the value of humans, and the destiny of humans.
In “Bits and Pieces”, published in June 23, 1994, was described an incident in the life of Gutzin Borglum that we can learn a spiritual truth from. Aside from Mt. Rushmore as his magnum opus, Gutzin Borglum also has a head sculpture of Abraham Lincoln in the Capitol at Washington, D.C. One day, when the face of Lincoln was just becoming recognizable out of the stone, a young girl stepped into the studio with her parents. As she looked at the half-done face of Lincoln, her eyes registered an utmost wonder and confident astonishment. Having stared at the piece for a substantial moment, the girl ran to the sculptor and asked, "Is that Abraham
Lincoln?" "Yes.", was the proud reply. Then with total innocence, the girl asked the sculptor, "Well, how in the world did you know he was inside the stone?"
Indeed, this is exactly how Jesus Christ created each one of us. He did not create us without knowing what is inside of us, even our frailties and our need for salvation. He did not create us without knowing what image we were created in, even our image is of God. He created us in order for us to enjoy fellowship with Him in Heaven.
Knowing and believing that Jesus Christ created us in the image of the holy God and continually molds us into Christlikeness, is reason enough to celebrate Him in Christmas.
We celebrate the Christ in Christmas because He is the Sustainer.
Jesus Christ is not only a creator, He is also a sustainer. While He is before all things, in Him all things hold together as well (Colossians 1:17). He did not only create, He also keeps. Our lives therefore, are safe, secure, and not lacking in the hands of the Good Shepherd.
There is a story about a little boy who had a serious conversation with his mother after church. He asked his mother, “Is it true that God is everywhere? His mother replied, “That is right!”. Then the boy went on to ask, “Is God up in the sky?” His mom said, “Yes, I’m sure He is”. Then he asked furthermore, “Is God in my belly?” Now his mother was not quite sure where all these questions were leading to, nonetheless, not quite sure how to answer him. She finally said, “Well, I’m not sure, but I guess He is”. The boy thought for a moment, then lovingly said, “Mommy, God wants a cookie”.
This is may be a funny story, but the truth behind the story rings very loudly. God is taking care of all of us. Jesus Christ is our sustainer (1 Thessalonians 5:24). He is our good Shepherd (Psalm 23). Because Jesus came into the world to be our sustainer and good Shepherd, so we have all the reasons to celebrate Him in Christmas!
We celebrate the Christ in Christmas because He is the Reconciler.
Jesus Christ is not only our Redeemer and Savior. He is also the Way to the Father (John 14:6). As a personal Savior, Jesus Christ embraces the lives that are shattered by sin. He comforts the lives that are stunted by the darkness of circumstances. He reconciles our lives of sinfulness to a life of righteousness and holiness through His blood shed on the Cross (Colossians 1:20).
In “Today in the Word” dated July 5, 1993, runs a story about reconciliation. One New Year's Eve at London's Garrick Club, British dramatist Frederick Lonsdale was asked by his friend Symour Hicks to reconcile with a fellow member. Having quarreled in the long past, they never cared to restore their friendship. "You must reconcile with him," Lonsdale was prodded by Hicks. "It is very unkind to be unfriendly at such a time. Since this is an opportune time of the year, go over now and wish him a happy New Year." So Lonsdale crossed the room and spoke to his enemy friend. "I wish you a happy New Year," Lonsdale coldly extended, "but only one year!."
The story shows how humans can not afford to forgive, can not yield to forget, and much more, can not offer reconciliation.
Reconciliation begins with forgiveness. As Jesus Christ forgives us, He also reconciles us to the Father and restores our place in the family of God. Because Jesus came into the world to be the Reconciler of fallen humans and a holy God, so we have all the reasons to celebrate Him in Christmas!
Christmas is a celebration of Christ.
If Christ is in your heart, the celebration is 24/7 (John 17:3). And as the believer's life of righteousness is not only seasonal, therefore, everyday is Christmas. Everyday, believers who are in Christ (John 15) willingly spread the gospel of peace, joyfully celebrate the unconditional love of Jesus Christ, and faithfully wish everyone the blessings of Christlikeness.
So is it wrong for me to gather with families in worship of Christ on December 25?
Is it only right for us to gather together in worship to Christ any day other than December 25?
So is it wrong for me to decorate my home with Christmas tree? I believe it is, if and only if, I worship the tree rather than creator of the world (Jeremiah 10:1-5).
And is it wrong for me to give presents during Christmas? I believe it is, if and only if, love is not the only string attached to them.
Is it wrong to create Santa Claus in their lives of our children? Definitely yes, because Santa Claus is not Jesus Christ after all! He may be a real person or probably a myth, but I believe that the only best explanation about Santa Claus’s existence is when children witness their Moms unbashfully kiss Santa Claus!
Finally, is it wrong for believers to celebrate Christmas? Definitely yes, if and only if, Jesus Christ is removed from the celebration.
Donald Deffner wrote an article titled “Meaning of Christmas - Materialism” in Seasonal Illustrations in 1992. He wrote of a television correspondent who was walking the streets of Tokyo at Christmas time. The correspondent observed that Christmas shopping is a big commercial success in Japan, much as in America. When the correspondent asked one young woman on the sidewalk what is the meaning of Christmas for her, the lady nonchalantly responded that she does not know. Having gathered her thoughts after a moment, she asked the correspondent, “Is that the day Jesus died?"
It is so sad to say, but there was some truth in the lady’s answer. It is because Jesus Christ died in Christmas, while He was buried underneath the mountains of materialism of the Christmas season.
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