December 17, 2009

Christmas or Holiday?

Christmas without Christ is just a day off work.

Christmas is being missed in my opinion. We are bombarded with “holiday neutral” marketing. This comes as no surprise to me. It is the nature of an unredeemed world to navigate away from the work of God. If it were not for the grace of God on our behalf we would not even be able to acknowledge our need for His intervention.

The surprise to me is the volume of comments I have heard and seen about how the ups and downs of life are affecting the celebration of the season. Numerous times this year I have witnessed in some way those who have been redeemed declaring that unexpected bills have ruined Christmas.

Now let me be clear, life is full of good days and bad days. Unexpected expenses in a my world are difficult. I like everyone else am prone to a “bad day” when money is tighter than I can seem to handle.

Here is my problem. My unexpected expenses should not in any way be tied to my celebrating Christ’s entry into my world. Christmas is not a celebration of spending (despite the fact we act as if it is), but the celebration of grace. I am trying to change my thinking this year. I refuse to let a poor economy steal the celebration of Christ. Christmas is actually (surprise, surprise) about Christ.

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