There are only 5 more days left before Christmas. And yes, I am still hoping to get an Ipad and a 42” flat screen LED with Logitech TV (google TV). But I am not going to be disappointed if they are not under the tree (which is the far greater possibility, if not certainty). For all the talk and pleas for specific Christmas gifts I am very well aware that Christmas isn’t about the gifts I receive or the gifts that I give. In fact if I had my druthers I would get rid of the gift giving all together and center totally on the celebration of Christ’s coming into the world.
The idea that December 25th is about the birth of Jesus, however, is becoming ever increasingly nostalgic. A USA TODAY/Gallup poll found that though 74% called Christmas “primarily” religious, less than 47% percent plan to attend a Christmas Eve service and only 28% will even tell the Christmas story from the Bible. The Nativity under the tree gets buried beneath the torn and discarded wrapping.
This decline in the importance of Christ in Christmas is disappointing if our hope is in the continuing idea that America is a Christian nation. But whatever America was the landscape has changed dramatically over the years. Our hope remains the same as it was on the first Christmas morning; that in the midst of a turbulent and troubled world God became man to identify with us and in the end provide a way for us to be a part of His Kingdom; His household; His family.
Peace on earth and good will toward men isn’t wishful thinking. It is a reality grounded in the sure promises of God and manifested in the person of Jesus. Peace with God where his goodness is toward man is the greatest of all hopes when we are faced with hurt, pain, and uncertainty. In the darkness there is light and it is a light for all people everywhere when Jesus was born.
In five days, before the gifts are open, take a moment and read again the promise and hope of God – The Christmas Story, the story of Jesus.
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