It’s Christmastime Again

The following is a blog post by Brother Dale over at Revival Fire. You can find the original post here.

It’s Christmastime again.  I can’t believe that I’ve been saved for almost 45 years now and have been able to be part of so many real Christmases.

It wasn’t always so.  As a young man who refused to believe in such nonsense such as a god that I couldn’t see, feel, or touch, Christmas remained simply a time of tinsel, pretty lights, Thomas Kincaid settings, and presents that you couldn’t afford.  What a difference a simple prayer can make!

Over the years, I have heard all the reasons of why we shouldn’t celebrate Christmas – and I’m sure you’ve heard your share also.  Born in a desire for righteousness but nurtured in a sea of self-righteousness, the razor-sharp arguments contend for an elimination of anything that smacks of red and green hues.  The reasons are prolific.  Let’s see:

- Jesus wasn’t born on December 25th
-It’s a pagan holiday
-The Roman Catholics started it
-There’s a reference to the Christmas tree as an abomination in Isaiah
-The only gift giving in the Bible was when Herod cut off John the Baptist’s head
-Jesus never said to celebrate His birth; only His death.
etc., etc.

I got it. Really I do.  But aren’t there enough commandments in the Bible without having to make up some new ones?  Does it really make us more righteous to abstain from celebrating Christmas, or does it just make us seem like we’re more “enlightened” than everyone else?

After so many years, there is one thing that I point to that has impressed itself on me that trumps all of those seemingly theological intelligent objections.  I have noticed that every year about this time, there is a unique spirit of peace that descends upon the Earth like a softly fallen snow.  For this one short period of time each year, people feel something so very different than the rest of the year.  Grumpy old men find time to do something nice for others, people in a rush stop long enough to help strangers, strangers reach a sincere hand of friendship to people they’ve never had the time for before, and children open up in wide-eyed imaginations that are more wonderful than any other time in the year.

It’s Christmastime again.

I believe that God in all His loving mercy for mankind reaches down to touch humanity with a taste of the Love of God that we seem to be numb to the rest of the year, just as a reminder that He sent His only begotten Son as the ultimate Christmas gift to all men everywhere who would accept Him that they may be saved from their sins.  It’s a taste of what Heaven must be like, sent down from our Heavenly Father who would have all men to be saved.  A glimpse at what must be an eternal Christmastime.

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”  Isaiah 9:6

Merry Christmas, from all of us, to all of you.