Christmas changes as the years pass. There are no two Christmases alike as children grow older, traditions fade, and families disperse. Christmases past remind us of what used to be as memories seem to hang before us as ornaments on a Christmas tree. Our attitude towards Christmas even changes. A child’s innocent perspective on the holiday eventually fades, but Christmas is not a passing fantasy.
The common thread that binds together Christmas celebrations both past and present is the Story of the Christ Child born in a manger and what sets this Day apart and validates the holiday is the completion of His mission on Earth.
Christmas, the bookend to our calendar year and the largest commercial holiday in America, is more than a passing phenomenon. No matter the amount manipulating and meddling to alter the age-old holiday, Christmas will remain.
Christmas will not change because Christmas cannot change since “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
Christmas perpetually stands. In war and in pain, Christmas continues. No force can drown out the significance of the season because Jesus inaugurated a continuous reason of celebration for mankind. Christmas gives the Earth new meaning. Billy Graham says, “Christmas is not just an annual holiday… Christmas is the celebration of the event that set Heaven to singing, an event that gave the stars of the night sky a new brilliance.”
The essence of the celebration, Immanuel (God with us), revolutionized the world, and because of this, we will forever have reason to rejoice. The constant of Christmas guarantees that we will always have reason to celebrate, no matter the circumstances.
Like the Star that shone over Bethlehem, Jesus offers a ray of hope in a dark world. Christmas is a season of hospitality and He turns none away. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
The invitation remains. So come; and let us adore Him this Christmas.
“Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.” (1 Peter 1:8)
