Christmas Reflections

Maybe this is the first year we hosted for Christmas, and the planning made me think more about Christmas this time than years past.

If we strip away the Christmas tree, the music, the food, the gifts, even the Church services, and everything else, believers of Jesus Christ still have Christmas, because what is important is what is in the heart, not the momentary happiness any external thing brings. But what about those who do not know Him and do not have a personal relationship with Him?

When hubby and I picked up things at Wal-Mart shortly before Christmas, the cashier greeted us with a smile on her face and asked if we were ready for Christmas. As we kept on talking, she told us she did not intend to celebrate Christmas, as her husband was no longer living. In fact, she had not celebrated Christmas since he passed away six years ago. Slowly, her smile that greeted us was replaced by sadness, while Christmas music was still playing and shoppers were still cheerfully buying for Christmas.

A couple of days before Christmas, I made another trip to get ready. On the way home, I saw the many bumper stickers at the back of the pickup truck in front of me. One of the stickers stated "Pagan & Proud." As I browsed his collection of bumper stickers which made the clear statement that he was not a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, the radio in my car was playing the song "Mary, Did You Know?" As the singer sang about baby Jesus as God Incarnate and the reason He came as a baby, multitudes of people did not know the Good News, and many chose not to accept it.

The morning after Christmas, our door bell rang. It was a lady who came to share the doctrines she upheld as a Jehovah's Witness. She told me we should not celebrate Jesus' birth, but only His death. As we exchanged thoughts and beliefs, I noticed the younger lady who came along with her two very young daughters, aged 4 and 3. Adorable as they were, these girls were not being taught about Christmas and the meaning of Jesus' birth.

Another Christmas has gone by - what does Christmas mean to each of them?