In my preaching years, Every year, when I sat down to prepare the sermons for the Christmas season, I would think, “This year, we’re going to focus on the TRUE meaning of Christmas.” I wonder if people got tired of hearing me say that year after year. I think I stopped saying it after a while. But the sentiment isn’t lost because I do have trouble getting my mind around the depth of the true meaning of Christmas. I’m not sure I’ll ever fully comprehend it: God becoming a man, born in a manger, with the sole purpose of dying at the hands of those He created to pay the penalty for their sins. This is just a little too profound for me to grasp. That’s why it’s great to visit this truth often.
It’s very hard to focus on the real meaning of Christmas at Christmas time. Christmas comes at the wrong time of the year. I mean, all the activities of Christmas take my focus off of the true meaning of Christmas. All of my family Christmas pictures growing up were about toys and trees. I got my first bicycle at Christmas. I loved that bicycle! (I had training wheels on it for 3 years!) I rode that 20-inch bike until I was 13 years old. It served me well on my paper route and I remember when it was stolen at the swimming pool at Miller Park. I was heartbroken. Anyway, at Christmas We buy presents for everyone in our family. We send cards and or letters to those far away. I don’t get the “tree” idea. Where does the pine tree show up in the Christmas story? I like the idea of lights because Jesus is the “light of the world,” and that’s a great symbol. But we take what’s inside, lights, and put them on the outside. Then take what’s outside, trees, and put them on the inside. What’s that all about? We all have parties to go to, and the list could go on and on. We give and receive presents, which are important because it’s the real meaning of Christmas, giving to others because God so loved that He gave His only son.
The main problem I have with Christmas is that I’m always too busy with the season to really enjoy It. When I was pastoring, we’d have two Christmas Eve services every year, which were the highlight of our season’s holiday. When Christmas came on a Wednesday, I’d preach three sermons on the Sunday before and then two on Tuesday night, which was Christmas Eve. Thankfully, we didn’t have a Christmas Day service. That’s a lot of stress. Now that I’m retired, I won’t have the stress of the ministry to occupy my mind so much. It’s nice not to have a lot of deeds to do and promises to keep in my old age. Yet, I still struggle with the commercialization of Christmas and all the mushy Christmas movies that seem to miss the real point of Christmas. It’s not about my finding love in this world, it’s about finding God’s love demonstrated to me on the cross. God gave us Himself so that we might have eternal life! He came into the world to give us that present. He was born of a woman and lived with us. “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger…” Luke 2:7