what have we done to Christmas…?

What have we done to Christmas…? 

The question came to mind after reflecting on Friday… filtering through all I heard at the book signing…

I wonder if what I wrote will meet expectations…

The devotionals are not about family traditions… or favorite recipes… or even past Christmas memories…

The devotionals are about Jesus… taking the Nativity verses and seeing them as His breathed out Word which teaches… rebukes… equips for every good work…

The Christmas story is not just a backdrop for a cute… clean… Nativity scene… it is there to remind us who He is… and who He calls us to be…

There’s more to the story than warm fuzzy feelings…

His breaking into the world… was a stealth invasion of enemy territory…

Undercover… He came to save the world… seek the lost… and bring to destruction the current evil regime…

Now don’t get me wrong… the Christmas tree is up at my house… and gift lists being made… and there’ll be family gathered… good food consumed… it is a time to rejoice…

But it’s also a time to remember why He came…

Jesus’s cradle cannot be separated from His cross…

And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

Luke 2:34-35 ESV

He came to turn the world upside-down and lives inside-out…

There were those who rejoiced at His coming… and those who were terribly troubled…

For the community of Believers… it’s a season to rejoice… but also a reminder to stay awake…

We too have entered enemy territory… when we took His name…

Lift Him up above all… and do not fall prey… to what the world… has made Christmas…

It is so much more…