Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools…Trying to live in God’s world while striving against him is the ultimate exercise in frustration and futility. While choosing to ignore the wisdom of God, people continue to seek other knowledge and wisdom. 

But this is rather like reading and making conclusions about the meaning of a story after having removed the main character from the events of the plot. This removal of the main character equates to a suppression of truth and consequently a void is left in reality; remove truth and the void it leaves must be filled. All that remains is a vacant series of events into which a variety of new fictitious ideas must be inserted.

Enter the great Christmas debate – the whole “Keep Christ in Christmas” campaign.  Not that this is a wasted pursuit, but sometimes I wonder why we pursue it.  As long as “Christ” remains in “Christmas” it seems, we can happily continue to spend money we don’t really have on things we don’t really need.

Sure, the giving of gifts has its symbolic root in the gifts the wise men gave to Jesus, but this was a rather minor point of the story if you think about it, considering the magnitude of what was really happening. God…came to earth – as a baby! Only by reinserting this main character of the story will the story ever cease to be mere foolishness.

You might find these observations a bit cynical, considering the time of year that is upon us.  But think about this: if it’s really Jesus’ birthday we’re celebrating, shouldn’t we be giving gifts to HIM?

And how can we do this? Instructions can be found in Matthew chapter 25, “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’… ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”

Are we content with getting people to say “Christmas” rather than “holiday” or “Xmas” or would we also like them to know why we worship the Christ, Jesus, whom we believe is actually God?

So please do keep Christ in Christmas, but consider giving a gift or two to HIM this year.  After all, it’s HIS birthday we’re celebrating.

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Michael Krahn (michael.krahn@gmail.com) is a husband, father, Pastor, writer, and recording artist who enjoys books, theology, technology and the Ottawa Senators.
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