Every Christmas season we hear the same old reasons to consider it something less than it is: it’s over commercialized, it’s teaching our kids to be greedy and selfish, all it does is stress out parents with too many responsibilities, Santa Claus is a false idol and a lie, etc. But is that the spirit and truth we should embrace?
At our last prison ministry gathering at the Limon Correctional Facility, I was asked to do a talk about the meaning of Christmas. Great, I thought. What do I say to the men they haven’t heard a hundred times before? But immediately the Spirit brought John 4 to mind, “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.” If God wants us to worship Him thus, perhaps we should look at how He established Christmas.
His very first announcement came through angels proclaiming, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger. And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.’” (Luke 2). Those shepherds then went to Bethlehem to see the Christ-child and returned praising God for all they had heard and seen. They were followed by the three wise men who, upon seeing the star God placed in the sky to lead them to the child, “rejoiced exceedingly with Great joy” (Matt. 2)!
Then, there was Mary during her encounter with Elizabeth in Luke 1, where she cries out, “My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior!” Finally, there was an old man named Simeon, upon who God had placed the Holy Spirit and told him he would not die before seeing the Christ-child. When he finally did, he proclaimed, “Now Lord, Thou dost let Thy bond-servant depart In peace, according to Thy word, for my eyes have seen Thy salvation which Thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, A light of revelation to the Gentiles And the glory of Thy people Israel” (Luke 2)!
It would seem the overwhelming evidence is, first and foremost, for the spirit and truth of Christmas being a time of great rejoicing—celebrating the birth of the Christ-child to bring salvation to a lost and condemned world. It was an event that shook the foundations of history and changed, literally, everything for all eternity. This is certainly how the Father felt about it, and moreso what everyone “the Spirit” was involved with saw as “the truth.”
God showed me another reason the Spirit seems so evident every Christmas in the felt need of so many to gather with family. Tragically, with my brothers behind bars and so many others around the world without close family ties these days, we see Christmas as a time of great sorrow and loneliness. So, for better or worse, Christmas is a time where family meaning so much is palpable. What He showed me was how the Father sent the Son to save and reconnect Him with the children! For the Father, the Christ-child came to draw close and reunite His family!
As with every decision we make, Christmas boils down to whether our perception comes from a kingdom mindset or a worldly one. Do we see it from God serving up ‘spirit and truth,” or from the enemy serving up “flesh and deception?” Does in not become evident we buy into the latter by allowing all the naysayers put forth to keep us from all God put forth by sending His Son? Is that, then, going to be our identity or will we stand in our kingdom identity rejoicing with great joy at the very thought of Christmas, seeing it as a time for drawing close to God and family?
I get it if you don’t want a tree, you don’t want to let your kids believe in Santa or allowing everyone to get caught up in the commercialism of it. But refusing to join God in celebrating it or ignoring the gathering of family is denying the “spirit and truth of it.” And consider this: for every gift that is received there is a gift given. Perhaps focus on the giving part of the equation. In any event, don’t literally throw the baby Jesus out with the bathwater. Get together with family and celebrate God’s reason for the season. And if you have no ties to physical family, seek out your spiritual one: the body of Christ. Don’t be too proud to ask for fellowship during a difficult time. Who knows, it may open the door to you giving someone else reason to experience “good news of a great joy!”
Merry Christmas!
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