And if it weren’t for the Christmas holidays, family relationships would be worse than they are. We are reminded of values that are forgotten or at least diminished at other times of the year. People talk about loving one another as God loved us by sending His Son to the earth. When else can you enter into stores and hear some of the greatest Christian songs ever written being played, like “Joy to the World”? That’s awesome! You will see displays of the nativity scene in places that the only mention of the Lord at other seasons would be to take His name in vain. Our roots as a Christian nation are showcased.
In a culture that has become increasingly secular, where it is politically incorrect to even mention the name of the Lord lest we offend someone, I think it’s awesome that Christmas brings some of the greatest truths of the Gospel to light in public.
I gave in and we’ve enjoyed a Christmas tree ever since.īut as I’ve grow older, I’ve come to appreciate the positive side of Christmas much more. They said they knew the pagan origins of the custom, but they just thought it was pretty, and they wanted to look at it the way Martin Luther did - as a symbol of everlasting life. We would have a birthday cake for Jesus and give gifts to our boys, but we made it clear that they came from the Lord, through us, and not from some fat man in a red suit.įinally, when we moved into our present house fourteen years ago, my boys asked if we could have a Christmas tree. For the first sixteen years of my married life, we didn’t have a Christmas tree or decorate for Christmas. Therefore, Christmas became just another day to me.Īs I began to seek the Lord, I became aware of all the pagan practices incorporated into the Christmas season, and I became disillusioned with the whole thing. It was like every day was Christmas, many times over. Then, when I had my miraculous encounter with the Lord on March 23, 1968, I fell in love with Him a thousand times more than I had ever experienced His love at Christmas. That allowed our Christmas celebration to center on what was really important. I remember as a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old teenager, I convinced my family to take all the money we would have spent on gifts for each other and to give that money to the missions program at church. Even before I received the baptism in the Holy Spirit, I got discontented with all the commercialism associated with Christmas. Christmas is an awesome time of the year.
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