My Deepest Christmas Insight

Brace Yourself!

As a follower of Christ, I’m preparing myself for the Christmas Season, but not in the way you might think.

I’m bracing myself against the cascade of guilt and shame flowing from the so-called evangelical community every December.

There will be the usual degrading offering of “you’re spending too much money on this or that,” with a self-righteous sprinkling of “we buy a cheap tree,” one-upped by “we don’t buy a tree at all,” but trumped by the “we only talk and think about Jesus on Christmas” crowd.

Modern-day Pharisees throughout the church will boast of their “just right” limit on individual gifts, as they look for a verse to spew at anyone spending even a dollar more than their “sanctified” amount.

So, I’m supposed to feel guilty about decorating our home to celebrate the Lord’s birth and buying presents for the people I love?

You Gotta Do Better Than That!

Hey, you feel guilty over that if you want to. I’ve got a lot better, more biblical reasons to feel guilty during Christmas:

• I believe in the Incarnation, but sometimes I have doubts. If it isn’t true I’ve wasted most of my life.

• I hope in Christ as my Good Shepherd, but sometimes I get discouraged, even depressed…especially during December.

• I love my Judy with all my heart, but sometimes during our insane holiday schedule she drives me nuts and I say mean and hurtful things…even on Christmas morning.

• I say I want to live openly and honestly, but sometimes I still manipulate people to get what I want and try to hide my shortcomings…even from my closest friends.

• I’ve made a lot of progress in the whole avoid sin thing, but sometimes I still surprise myself and sin as if I had never met Christ…even as I approach sixty!

So if you’re trying to make me feel guilty for enjoying a season that brings families together and everyone gets an extra dose of joy and grace, you’re wasting your time. If you’re trying to shame me for the small extravagances that come from my thankful and loving heart, it’s not going to work.

Here’s What I Know!

And it’s not because I’m a particularly strong or spiritual Christian. I’d have to say I’m just about average, maybe even a little below average. But I live with one Christmas truth lodged deep in my soul: The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world (1 John 4:14).

My deepest Christmas insight is that I am seriously, profoundly and thoroughly loved by Jesus Christ; and I don’t deserve it because I have done nothing to earn His love. He just showed up in a manger in Bethlehem, lived among us, died for us, and rose again because He knew I needed something that dramatic to have any hope.