So, seeing as Christmas is just around
the corner, I feel like it is proper to comment on the actual point
of the holiday. Christmas, as you may or may not know, originally had
nothing to do with Santa. There was no naughty or nice list. No happy
elves or magic (and slightly judgmental) reindeer. No sleigh or
presents or cookies left out near the chimney. Christmas is a time of
remembrance.
Christmas is a celebration of the birth
of Jesus Christ. It is a remembrance of the day he made himself flesh
and blood. He choose to put aside his deity to become human like you
and I. To experience our suffering and feel our needs and hardships.
He was not God smushed into the body of a man, he was an actual man.
A living breathing human being, who had to live and learn like we do.
The only difference between us and him, was that Jesus was without
sin. He came as the perfect sacrifice. He became flesh solely to die
on the cross for our sins. He came solely to bear our suffering to
create a way for us. We celebrate Christmas to remember the day he
was born. We celebrate it to remember the miracle and the majesty of
Jesus Christ. It was not created as a day to get a ton of presents or
to see everyone in the family.
How many of us pull out a nativity set
and call it good? How many of us stopped telling the story of the
birth of Jesus when the kids outgrew those books? How many of us go
to the Christmas service and spend the entire time waiting for it to
end? Many of us, myself included, can be guilty of this on Christmas
day. We get so wrapped up in the holiday that we forget its purpose.
We forget what it is that we are really celebrating. We forget what
Christmas is really about. And no, I don't mean the holiday specials
that say family and being together are all that matters, or that it's
the thought that counts. Those things are true, but they are not the
main focus. Now, I am not saying that nothing else is important
during the holidays. I am not saying that Christmas is not a time to
be with the ones you love. I am not saying you should abandon your
traditions and stop giving gifts. I am saying that there is more to
the holiday than these things. That there is more to Christmas than
being with your family and giving presents. That it is a day to
remember what God has done for us.
-BlackFox
(450)
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