Are you excited, yet, about Christmas? Can you feel the anticipation? Okay, so many of you are busy, harried, and hurried. And maybe a few of you are upset about the “commercialization of Christmas.” But, for what it’s worth, I love this time of year.
Yes, I know that much of it is consumed with shopping and stuff. But, isn’t it awesome that the entire world stops and focuses on the story of the incarnation? Okay, maybe most people aren’t thinking of the theology or even the baby, but the fact that this holiday is here because of the birth of Jesus is pretty cool. Millions of unchurched people around the world will fill pews on Christmas Eve and have a chance to hear why Jesus came.
Plus, there is a certain warmth to this season, even its non-Christian elements. I love the music of the season, I love the traditions, the family together-ness, and yes, the food. It’s as if, for a couple of weeks, the world stops all of its craziness and says, “Let’s have a good time.” I like that the fact that every single year, no matter what happened during the year, we still have Christmas.
And all of this happens, because 2,000 plus years ago, on an otherwise obscure night in a little backwater town named Bethlehem, a child was born. Not just any child, but the Christ child. At that time, nobody stopped what they were doing. There were no holidays, traditions, or anything marked off. But out of that humble birth came the greatest story, a story so rich and so powerful that it draws you in. If anything tells you about the character of God, it is His willingness to come and be vulnerable, to humble Himself as a precious, fragile baby born into a common home to ordinary parents.
That’s why I’m excited about Christmas. It’s the chance to invite the world into the story of Jesus and discover Him a little more, to go deeper and understand what the gospel message is about.