
“One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it.” (Rom. 14: 5-6)
There are lots of articles that offer opinion on why Christians shouldn’t celebrate Christmas. While I agree that we shouldn’t let the worldly depiction of the Christmas season be our focus, Romans 14:5-6 provides us with the liberty to decide whether or not to observe special days. A Christian can rightfully set aside any day–including Christmas–as a day for the Lord. While Christmas doesn’t seem to have been celebrated until well after the biblical era it is nonetheless a day we as Christians set aside to think on the Incarnation of God coming to earth to live among us in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ.
This real meaning of Christmas should be remembered and celebrated on a regular basis, not just once a year. As humans, we need repetition because we so easily forget.
Christmas is a time to marvel over God’s redemptive plan for mankind.
We serve a God who chose to die on our behalf so that we would be saved. Don’t you wonder why war stories of a soldier who jumps onto a grenade or takes a bullet to save his fellow soldiers strikes a chord so deep in us? It’s because they a demonstrating the same love that God had for us when Christ came to earth – that is the first visible step to us of God’s plan for redeeming us. The holiday provides us with a wonderful opportunity to share this truth.
While our society has tangled and distorted the true meaning of Christmas through consumerism, myths and empty traditions, we can refuse to allow these to distract us from what our appreciation should be centered on.
Christmas isn’t just a day to be celebrated and then forgotten as we move to the next – that’s what the department stores do! No, Christmas is to be seen by us as the first part of the grand plan of God to restore His fallen creation to Him.
“The Christian Church should not be a secret society of specialists,
but a public manifestation of believers in Jesus.”
(Oswald Chambers, Facing Reality)
Leave a comment