Christmas is Not Common

Americans have merged Thanksgiving, Hannukah, Christmas, and New Year's Day into the 40 or so days we affectionately dub "the holidays," and we devote much time over "the holidays" to celebrating with family and friends, eating and spending more than we should, and reflecting on our progress and prosperity over the past year. If that sentence seemed a little long, that's because there was a lot packed into it. It contained too much information to focus enough on any one part. The same thing has become true of "the holidays." We move fast, and we have become very efficient with our celebrations. combining things that are close together so we can "kill two birds with one stone."

Nothing is inherently wrong with any of these holidays or practices individually, but I wonder if blending everything together causes us to lose sight of why each one matters, much like eating too much soup causes us to forget the flavor of the ingredients. In our effort to prioritize everything, we have made it all common, but Christmas is absolutely not common. It is the moment when God became flesh, heaven touched earth, and everything changed. Surely that deserves more attention than rushing to open the presents, clean up the wrapping paper, get to grandma's in time for lunch, and whatever else you have scheduled to fill the day. If Jesus could set aside His glory and splendor to come to earth as a helpless Baby for you, you can set aside a moment of your time for Him.

So I encourage you to make time this year to truly celebrate Christmas. Read the story of Jesus' birth, pray, worship with a Christmas hymn, and seek God first. You do not have to neglect your family or commitments, but you should absolutely refuse to treat something sacred as something common. I pray you have a blessed Christmas, and spend your time focused on Who matters most.