Saturday, December 23, 2006

25 Thoughts on Christmas: Thought #23... Christmas and Christians

As (or if) you've been reading my various posts concerning the Christmas season, you may have found yourself thinking, "man this guy is a scrooge." Sometimes I woder I am.

I'm not a big fan of the Christmas Lights.

Christmas music is not my favorite.

It bothers me that the minute Thanksgiving is over, we're supposed to start prepping for Christmas by going out and shopping.

I struggle with those self-appointed "Christmas Spirit spreaders" who find it their personal responsibility to point out those who are missing "Christmas Spirit" due to a lack of excitement about trees, eggnog, and gaudy sweaters.


So, I'm kind of a Scrooge. Yet, there's a part of me that loves Christams.

I have three trees in my house.

I love the thought of getting together with family to celebrate.

I enjoy giving and receiving gifts.

I've spent 23 days talking about Christmas.


The reality of it is that I love Christmas, but there's also a part of me that is really bothered by Christmas. I love what it's all about. Jesus. King of Kings coming to earth and conquering death. I love taking time to stop and gather with loved ones and simply spend time in celebration of this reality.
I'm bothered by the commercialization, and making Christmas into a time that is too busy for Jesus.

My feelings for Christmas and Christianity are very much the same. I love Christianity, but there's also a part of me that is really bothered by Christianity. In the same way we miss the focus and focal point of Christmas, don't we so often do the same thing with Christianity???

Let's remember Christianity at it's core is about FOLLOWING CHRIST. Let's celebrate HIM over these next couple of days.

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