Xmas - Christmas
“Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, look to the apostle and high priest whom we confess, Jesus Christ.” (Hebräer 3:1)Most people accept that Christmas has become a boisterous, commercialized holiday – with Jesus usually completely forgotten. The focus is on food, wine, gifts, and celebrations; but what is being celebrated? As Christians, we should reflect on why God sent his Son to earth.
Christmas embodies God's love for humanity, as we know it in Johannes 3:16 Read. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” God wants us to rejoice in the decision he made to send his Son to this sinful world. It began with a child in a manger in a humble stable.
An interesting secularization of Christmas is the abbreviation that has become common with us today - "Xmas". Christ has been taken out of the word "Christmas"! Some justify this by saying that X stands for the cross. If so, it remains to be seen whether those who use the word will understand the explanation.
When we celebrate the birth of our Savior with friends and family, we should make sure that we look to Him: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the forerunner and perfection of faith – because Jesus knew what joy awaited Him, He took death on the cross and the shame that came with it, and He now sits on the throne in heaven at God’s right hand.” (Hebräer 12:2).
As they open their gifts at Christmas, remember what the apostle James wrote in chapter 1:17: “Only good gifts come from above, and only perfect gifts: they come from the Creator of the heavens, who does not change and by whom it there is no change from light to darkness". Jesus was the greatest Christmas present, not Xmas (Christmas).
Prayer
Thank you, great, wonderful Father, for sending your precious Son as an infant - one who would experience all the experiences that life brings. Help us Lord, that in this happy time, we look to Christ as the center. Amen.
by Irene Wilson
