AHHHHH, Christmas is in the air! Everybody take a big whiff of that Christmas-in-the-air smell! Do you smell that? Sugar plum fairies dancing, honey-smoked ham cooking in the oven, peppermint candy canes hanging on the tree, sugar cookies shaped like Santa Claus and Christmas trees baking in the oven.
It smells so good, right? You can almost taste it.
This time of year brings out a lot of emotions, doesn’t it? Some of those emotions are good—some are not so good.
Take a moment and share a few traditions that your family has around Christmas time.
On the podcast and the DVD I share with you one tradition that my family shares on Christmas and a tradition that Amy’s family shares on New Year’s Eve.
All of us have traditions, and many of them are amazing. Christmas is such an awesome time for so many reasons. Are you ready for it yet?
Right now, I want you to reflect on the emotions that you feel the most around this time: happy, joyful, chaotic, sad, depressing, whirlwind, overwhelmed, anxious, excited, cheerful, generous.
I don’t know about you, but for me, the number one emotion I feel is hope. It was not always that way. I used to feel all the emotions I just mentioned. But one day I heard an old saying I had heard hundreds of times before, but this time, it struck me. The saying was “remember the reason for the season.” We have all heard this—probably a thousand times—but have you ever actually thought about it?
One day, I asked myself, “What is the reason for the season?” Yes, the reason for the season is Christ’s birth, as many of us know, but what does that truly mean for us?
What is the significance of Jesus Christ’s birth? What is the real reason for the season?
I believe Scripture shows us that the reason for the season is hope. Jesus was born so that we may have hope. Jesus was born so that we may have salvation. Salvation gives us hope.
While many of us value our Christmas traditions and never want to miss out on them… how many of us are living out the hope that Christ’s birth has given us?
Journey with me in an out-of-body experience. Imagine that you are floating around outside of your body, watching everything that you do for the next month surrounding Christmas. How do you look? Do your words show the hope of Christ? Do your actions point toward Christ? This is your own experience, so do not lie to yourself. What does it look like?
We say Christ is the reason for the season, but do we truly believe that? Or do we get more caught up in family, traditions, gifts and all the busyness that this season brings? Those things are not necessarily terrible. Those are good things. Who does not like to get a nice gift? Who doesn’t want to spend time with Aunt Peggy who has that certain smell, pinches you on the cheek, and tells you how much you have grown up? Who doesn’t like that delicious Christmas feast your family prepares?
But if Christ is not at the forefront of everything we do during the Christmas season, we are missing out on the hope He brings. And because we’re missing out on the hope, others are missing out on the hope we could be sharing with them.
There is an incredible song by a band called Kutless that paints the perfect picture of what Christmas is about. It is called “This is Christmas.”
I love this song because it talks about what Christmas is really about. It talks about bringing glory to the God in the highest.
We cannot bring glory to God in the highest if we do not understand that Christ’s birth brought hope. He is our hope.
Let’s take a look at 1 Peter 1:3-6 (NIV).
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
There are three things that the hope of Christ’s birth brings:
1. The hope of Christ brings God praise.
When we recognize the hope that Jesus Christ brings us, we should praise God with everything that we have. The way we talk, the we walk, the way we treat others… all of it should praise God, especially during this season.
2. The hope of Christ brings salvation.
In order for Jesus to die and be raised from the dead, he had to be born. Christ was born to die for us, and then conquer death through His resurrection. His purpose was to bring us salvation, and to teach us about the hope that is found in Him. And now, He has chosen to be his hands and feet to serve out these purposes here on Earth. We have the honor of showing his hope to others.
3. The hope of Christ brings joy.
As Christians, we should absolutely love this time of year. We should not allow the hustle and bustle of the time to bring us down. We should have joy because we always know the real reason for the season.
So, what is Christmas? The answer is simple. Christmas is a reminder of the hope that Christ’s birth brought to the world. And that hope brings God praise. When we realize that we have nothing without Christ, we should be bring God all of our praise. The hope of Christ brings us salvation. It brings us joy.
Christ was born to die so that we could have a hope that surpasses all understanding. We do not deserve it, but He did it because of His love for us.
December 25 is not just about presents and family traditions. It is a day for us to celebrate the birth of our Savior… the birth of our hope… the birth of our salvation.
THIS IS CHRISTMAS!