What do you want for Christmas?

What do you want for Christmas?

I have to be honest with you; I really have a hard time with this question. I’m actually a pretty content guy. It’s not that I don’t enjoy Christmas presents as much as the next person. I just have a hard time compiling a list. However, Lauri told me if I didn’t put together a list for the fam, I wasn’t getting anything! That being unacceptable, I gave her a list, which included the following items; a Great Dane, neckties (lots of neckties), a fur coat, and an autographed 8 track of Lu Lu Roman (of Hee Haw fame) singing her greatest hits! She didn’t appreciate my humor but our daughter, Lauren, did!

One thing I would love for Christmas is to have the true holiday back! Between commercialism, busyness and political correctness Christmas seems to have been completely crowded out. Even our children’s Christmas musicals at school have replaced songs like “Silent Night” and “Away in a Manger” with “seasonal” or “cultural” selections. In the process of secularizing our holiday, the messages of “Peace on Earth” and “Joy to the World” have been all but lost! This is truly unfortunate for a world in desperate need of peace and joy. Christmas was once a time of year when even the most lost among us would pause to wonder if the miracle of Christmas could reach them. Sadly, that spirit of hope seems to be fading in the places that need it most.

As disturbing as the secularization of Christmas is, I believe this may be a cloud with a silver lining. As the message of Christmas becomes less popular the need for Christmas becomes more pronounced! In other words, the darker the night the more welcome the light. Far more compelling than a description of the light is the light itself! Songs and stories can only go so far so let’s not just tell them about Christmas; let’s show it to them!

Christmas is all about Emanuel, God with us! So what if the world doesn’t want to sing the songs of Christmas? Let them see the God of Christmas. Show them His awesome presence at work in His people! Sure, I miss some of the sentiment of ‘traditional” Christmas, but what really makes Christmas worth celebrating is the Presence of the King and He is alive and well! You want to make an impact this Christmas? Give the greatest gift ever given, Jesus! Let Him live, love and speak life through you!

My prayer is that you would have a blessed, Christ filled, Christmas.