When a movement takes off—any movement, be it social, political, or religious—and becomes bigger than its original leaders or founders could ever have imagined or envisioned, it often takes on a life of its own and morphs into something not quite the same as its origins or roots. I’d say that our annual celebration of Xmas is just such an example.
For the vast majority of families who celebrate Xmas from year to year, it’s not about Christ, the Messiah, and the fulfillment of God’s prophetic Word, a promise from God to His people that one day they will see the birth of One who will not only inherit King David’s throne but will transform that throne into an everlasting Kingdom to rule all peoples everywhere. (2 Samuel 7:8-14.) Yes, for the vast majority of people that annually celebrate Xmas, it is not about celebrating the Son of David, He whose lineage is traced back to King David of Israel, though he was born roughly a thousand years after King David lived.
Indeed, for most people, Xmas “is for the kids.” It’s NOT an adult thing. Most adults that celebrate Xmas do so as a legitimate reason to avoid work and to engage in binge drinking and wild partying, without apology. That is what Xmas means to most adults. Why? Why do people relinquish the joy of Christmas to children and the realm of childhood?
Perhaps it’s because (most) children are still prone to believe that there is a God. Children willingly believe that there is someone greater than themselves out there, someone who is the source of all that is awe-inspiring and wonderful. And they are still willing to believe in the idea that there really is “a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,” that is, a place of magic, where dreams really do come true—we call it heaven. They innately embrace the idea of heaven, redemption and salvation, and the idea that goodness will one day truly triumph over evil. In short, they keep the faith and are ever hopeful.
“Get real!” I hear you say, “The kids are in it for the presents. Forget the promise of a Savior, born of a virgin, born in a manger, Son of David, Messiah who is to be King of kings, God’s Anointed One, and Savior of the world. Who cares about that?! They want the goods! And the more presents they get the merrier they will be.” True. I can’t deny that. But whose fault is that, theirs or ours? Are we not the ones who turned Christmas into a gift giving bonanza “for the kids”? Yet, have you ever noticed how so many parents go out of their way to nurture their kid’s belief in Santa? Why is that?
Parents delight in their kid’s awe and amazement; that twinkle in their eyes, that joy of expectation, surprise and excitement. If adults were honest, they’d admit that they miss those same childhood feelings, that childhood trust in someone great and mysteriously awesome, even scary, but penetratingly good, kind, and loving, though firmly just and fair.
What many adults don’t realize is that they too can return to that same foundation of hope and expectation, trust and amazement. Re-embrace the true meaning, spirit, and truth of Christmas. There IS someone out there, bigger than us. His name is Jesus. He is the Christ, the Messiah, who has indeed come to save the world from its own inevitable self-destruction. There is hope for this terribly unjust, crude and rude world. Goodness shall prevail. Evil will be defeated. And no one shall ever be in want again. That day will come. Christmas, the real Christmas, is the first concrete step toward the fulfillment of that promise and hope that we have in God through Jesus, the Christ.
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