As we enter into the busy Christmas season, I find myself in this constant struggle between celebrating the “Hallmark movie” idea of Christmas and the actual reason behind Christmas.. Jesus’ birth. It hurts my heart to realize how much we’ve commercialized Christmas and made it about ourselves – making it about buying the best gifts, decorating the perfect tree, or getting a good photo with our family or significant other so we can post about our “perfect Christmas”. Yet are we even taking the time to enjoy the season? To experience the true peace and hope that the birth of our Savior brings? Are we wasting our time trying to decide what we want for Christmas instead of setting time and money aside to help give a gift to someone who may not get one otherwise? Why are we even giving gifts? Do we give out of gratitude for what we’ve been given, or in hopes of receiving something for ourselves? These are tough questions.. I struggle with them too. 

The sad reality is that many Christians, and for most of my life myself included, like to believe that making the single effort to go to church on Christmas Eve means that we’ve done our duty in making Christmas “about Christ”. But think about it.. do you and your family talk about Jesus’ birth in any other part of the day? Is your house cluttered with gnomes, red trucks, trees and stockings, but missing a nativity scene? Do your kids equate Christmas with Santa instead of Jesus? What kind of “Christmas music” are you listening to? Does your playlist consist of songs like All I Want for Christmas is You, Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree and It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year? Or are you intentionally turning on Christ-centered music like Silent Night or What Child is This? I can assure you that there is much more to Christ-centered Christmas music than those two classics – the Christian artists have done an amazing job with the new songs that they’re putting out and I promise that they’re worth your time to listen to and let your heart receive. Here are a few of my current favorites: Unto Us by Matthew West, Wonderful by CAIN, Face of God by Phil Wickham, and O What a King by Katy Nicole. 

Don’t get me wrong, I love the feeling of sitting on the couch and enjoying the sight of a Christmas tree giving off the only light in the room. But maybe while you’re snuggled up under a blanket by treelight, take out your Bible and read the birth account from Matthew or Luke – they’re not long, but they have so much value. While you’re there, flip to the Old Testament and read about the prophecies of Jesus’ birth in Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 9:6-7 and Micah 5:2 – prophecies written almost 700 years before Jesus was born. Let your heart rest in the fact that God planned Jesus’ birth long before he came to this earth, and trust that just as he waited until the perfect time to send Jesus the first time, he will also wait until the perfect time to send him back to earth again. 

Ultimately, I don’t think there is anything wrong with having family traditions that may not be exactly about Christ – I think it’s more about the intentions behind what we’re doing and what we’re celebrating. So just let your heart wrestle with the question “What are you celebrating this Christmas?” – and if it’s not what it should be, then find ways to make it more about the true reason for Christmas. 

December 1, 2023