Ok, super cliche sentence right here: let us not forget the true meaning of Christmas. You probably hear that every year am I right? Well that's probably because people always forget what Christmas is about! This time of season and celebration it's not about what you get or how much money you spend. We are often told it's about spending time with family and giving generously and abundantly to those around us. It's living out the golden rule "do unto others have you would have them do unto you." That is all very well and true but Christmas is also deeper than that. It is, most importantly, a celebration of our Lord's birth here on earth.
That right there is the importance of Christmas.
Jesus came to us.
This is a big deal. In every other religion the god or gods want mankind to come to them. But in our religion God wanted to come to us! So Jesus came down to commune with us. This is unheard of in other religions. We posses a relational God who came to dwell with us despite knowing that we would later condemn Him to the cross. So Jesus became fully human on Christmas day as the tradition holds.
So, to the Christian struggling with doubts of God's love, I direct you to the Christmas story, to the manger, to the stables where God became fully human. No one but a loving God would do that for us. Anytime I ever begin to doubt that God still loves me I think back to these things and all doubt are erased.
This is what Christmas is about. God saying to us "hey I love you so much I became one of you!" That's Christmas! That's why we should celebrate. Not for gifts or good food. Not just for family and giving, but to recognize one of the greatest things God could ever do for us.
Christmas is so much more than a holiday. It is every Christian young and old looking up to God the Father and saying two words:
"Thank You."
