Christmas, Not A Holiday?

My little girl, Molly, tried to peer over the fence posts, "Where's the baby? I want to see the baby!" I picked her up and pointed to the manger. "There He is. Do you see Him?" I questioned. She gasped and smiled as the baby's head poked up from the swaddling clothes. And, as we stood a few days ago in the crisp, winter evening gazing at the live nativity scene, we paused. This is the reason we celebrate. Jesus.

Christmas is the time of year that we celebrate God's Son, Jesus' miraculous, virgin birth. Jesus was sent to earth over 2000 years ago. He was fully God, yet fully man. Because He was sinless, perfect, and holy, He became the unblemished sacrifice to pay the penalty for my sins. When I confessed my sins to God and trusted in Jesus' sacrifice in death and His glorious resurrection, I became His child. As His born-again child, God promises to give me eternal life with Him. As I look at the manger, I see hope for all mankind. Jesus.

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Philippians 2:5-11

The nativity scene is always the favorite decoration to display for Christmas. My parents purchased us a beautiful Willow Tree one during our first few years of marriage. Every year for about five years, they would give us something to add to the scene....shepherds, farm animals, wise men, and lastly an angel towering over the stable. It truly is a beautiful display. I always worry about a piece getting broken, but in our new home I found the absolute perfect place for it. There is a rather large shelf like area above our front door. James got on a ladder and carefully placed each figure, and we added some frosted evergreen trees in the background. Our beautiful nativity is centrally located and is a wonderful reminder of the true meaning of Christmas. Jesus.

Every year, I pick a Christmas piece for my piano and voice students to learn. This year, one little boy was determined he was going to play, "Away in a Manger." And let me tell you, he was so proud of himself when he learned how to play the carol. He told me that he was going to play it for all his relatives at Christmas. While a lot of kids insist on "Jingle Bells" and other secular tunes, this little boy embraced a carol that encompassed the very essence of Christmas. Jesus.

Christians, I urge you this Christmas to proclaim the true meaning of this very special day. Google literally deleted all Christian holidays from my personal online calendar. There is no option to add the holidays back. I have to go to each specific day and input the holiday myself. However, it kept the first day of women's history month and other non-Christian events. Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas were excluded as U.S. holidays. This is not the time to cower in the corner about your relationship with Jesus. This is the time to boldly proclaim His name. With a quiet but violent war on Christianity, I see the American church diluting the message of Jesus and trying to be acceptable to the world. May the opposite be true of us. With boldness and faith, we must press forward sharing the incredible message of our Lord. This Christmas, shout His name from the rooftops. Jesus.

Molly's sweet, innocence and awe in catching a glimpse at the baby in the manger was just beautiful. May we as adults behold our Lord's face this Christmas season and boldly proclaim Him to the world. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.