It appears to be time once again for the great Christmas shutout! It’s nothing new; it happens every year at this time.
No, it’s not a sports event, though sports may be a part of it. It’s a spiritual event, shutting out Christ from Christmas.
It seems somewhat ironic. We set aside a day and a season to remember the birth of Jesus Christ, sent by God to be the Savior of the world, but we shut Him out and exclude Him from a time created to honor Him. We do it at Easter too!
It’s not just those who would change the usual Christmas greeting to “Happy Holidays” or those who replace Christ with Santa. It’s being so busy with our celebrations of the day that we shut out the reason for the season. We become so busy preparing for family get-togethers and gift giving, we fail to get together with Jesus and we leave the greatest gift standing outside the door.
And, it’s not just the unbelievers, the non-Christians, who shut Christ out. Sad to say, believers do it too! They’re too busy to consider God’s gift, too occupied to read God’s Word, too tired to come and worship the One who came into this world to pay the price for their sin and disobedience to God.
Perhaps it’s because no one wants to consider his own sinfulness and shortcomings when it comes to God – especially at Christmastime. No one sees a need for repentance and God’s mercy and forgiveness through faith in the shed blood of Jesus, the God-man Savior sent into this world on that first Christmas. Perhaps no one fears God’s wrath against sin and the fires of hell enough to look to the One God sent to make atonement for our sins and win for us eternal salvation. Perhaps no one sees the need of a Savior or grasps the richness of God’s love in sending his own Son to save us.
And so, Jesus is shut out – shut out of schools and businesses, shut out of Christmas dinners and celebrations, shut out of homes and churches, and shut out of hearts. And, to fill in the void, we occupy ourselves with our own traditions – Santa Claus, shopping and gift giving, family gatherings, holiday parties, TV specials and holiday sports. It’s not that all these things are bad; it’s that they so often shut Christ out. And Santa and Satan are happy!
But Jesus, He is left standing outside the door! Jesus – that Babe born in Bethlehem and the Christ who died on the cross and rose again – calls upon us to repent and look to Him in faith. He says, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20).
He came into the world to redeem and save us from sin and hell. He suffered our punishment that we might receive God’s pardon and forgiveness. He desires all to repent and look to Him in faith. He desires to be a part of our lives at Christmastime and every day, forever! He desires to celebrate with us the eternal joys of heaven He won for us!
How will you celebrate Christmas and the New Year?