I find Christmas to be a fascinating holiday. Not because I like to get a lot of presents. Although I do! Instead, I think it’s interesting watching how people get so caught up in all the things that there are to do before Christmas Day. I’m sure we can all think of examples of that business. All we have to do is go to any busy intersection and count how many people look angry in their cars. Or go to a store and watch people shoulder their ways toward the nearest deals.
Why is that? What is it about this time of year that we get so self absorbed? We get crazy and worked up as we pursue gifts for other people. And it seems that no matter who you are, we are all affected like this. Of course no one wants to be stuck in traffic or lines or anything else.
Somewhere along the way we’ve come to believe we deserve better. That we deserve that spot at the stop light. That we deserve the last gift on the shelf. But do we really? Do we somehow deserve these things? I’m afraid we don’t. We’re all tainted by sin, and therefore we all are unworthy. Or in other words, we don’t actually deserve any of those things.
That’s why God is so shocking. If there was ever anyone who didn’t deserve to have to go through of this grief it would be him. Instead, he chose to suffer, simply to show us how much he loves us.
The one thing that separates Christianity from all other religions is that we don’t have to do anything to earn this love. God came to this planet not because we earned it, or deserved it, but because he loved us. He sacrificed himself so that we would be able to know who he really was.
That’s the greatest gift any of us could receive. And at the risk of sounding cheesy – that’s what Christmas is really about.
This isn’t to say you should feel guilty for getting Christmas presents, or celebrating on Christmas day. In fact, God wants you to have nice things, and he wants you to receive gifts. God is a radically generous God. So when you wake up on Christmas morning and you are surrounded by all your new things, don’t feel guilty, just remember the sacrifice God made for us. Just remember that no matter how nice the gifts you receive (or give) they are nothing compared to what God offers to us. And maybe with that in mind, we won’t mind it when we’re cut off in traffic, or don’t get the exact item we wanted at the store.
