If you must put up a tree, put up a cross in remembrance of His holy Name.
If you must give a gift, tell someone of the Gift from our Father.
If you must sing a carol -sing a hymn.
If you must glorify something - glorify His Name. Not some made up character that brings presents on Christmas Eve.
Don't idolize this season because of the tradition.
Celebrate it because of Jesus. Celebrate it because of the Gift He is handing you.
Celebrate it because one day, you will go Home too.
All you have to do is accept this Gift. And say thank you until you are Home.
Christmas has been turned into a holiday that revolves around gifts and celebrating. But we seem to forget the One true Gift that has been given to us. God sent his ONLY Son to die for us! Sinners. Humans. Wretched beings. These are the same humans that spit at His feet, pierced him with a spear, placed a crown of thorns on His head, and hung him on a tree to die. And yet, He died for us. That death was for you and me. Even though He was falsely accused, He still died for us. We don't even deserve a single glance from Him! Our sins—transgressions against a holy God—make us deserve eternal punishment, specifically in Hell - a bottomless pit of fire and misery. BUT, He has offered us an alternative. He has offered us a Gift. This Gift is His very own Son, Christ Jesus. Christ has suffered everything that we deserve, so that we will not be punished for our sins. Rather, we can spend eternity with Him -the One true God that loves us with the greatest love possible. You do not know love until you know God's love. The love of a parent, spouse, sibling, etc. is only a small taste of what love is. He LOVES us: Me. You. He loves us so much that I could repeat what He has done for us a million times. He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die a horrible, awful, humiliating death on a tree. Why? So that you can spend the rest of eternity with Him.
This place, this earth, is only a temporary home. Home is Heaven, where God awaits us. Home is where I know I'm going after I die. Home is where I long to be. I want to be away from the evil of this world. I'm sick of it. I'm sick of the lies, the sin, the denying of God, the blasphemy. It sickens me.
So you see, Christmas—this holiday, this season— is nothing, unless it is of God. I celebrate CHRIST year round. Not just on December 25th -this date that tradition has assigned. I have celebrated CHRIST since the moment I accepted the Gift God offered me. And it wasn't on December 25th. No, I accepted that gift on April 12, 2007.
"Rejoice in the LORD; your righteousness, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy Name." (Psalm 97:12)
"Rejoice in the LORD always! And again I say rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4)
"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth... And of His fullness we have all received and for grace:" (John 1:13, 16)
With much love in His Holy, Almighty Name,
Caitie
♥♥ :)
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