Without Reason

Many have tried to live without Jesus and many are still trying to live without reason. Do you have a Christmas tree in your home? Are there lights hanging on or inside your house? Will you give and receive gifts on or around December 25th? Is there a party that you will attend this month at your job, at your child’s school or with a group of family members? Will you sing jingle bells or Rudolph?

Will you sit on a jolly saint’s lap and ask for all of the things that you want? Will you enjoy or complain about the hustle and bustle that the holidays bring? Will you get a day or two off from work simply because someone declared it a federal holiday? If so, you are guilty of celebrating Christmas.

I listened to a sermon by Allister Begg, he was speaking about taking things away from Jesus and who he is, and who Christians believe that he is. The focus of the sermon was the incarnation of Christ. He stated that many have tried to call him a good man, and even a prophet, while still removing parts of our belief system in order to accept some but not all. He related it to having your appendix removed. It is said that you can live without your appendix so you can take that away, but be careful what you remove because not everything can be lived without.

You can’t live without your heart or your lungs or your brain because those are vital for living. But there’s nothing about Jesus that equates to an appendix. You can’t take away His virgin birth, and you can’t take away the fact that He was God and man. He was always God, and at one point He was both God and man. But He was never solely, man. You can’t take away His omnipotence or His omnipresence or His omniscience. But in the same manner that you cannot take away parts of Jesus Christ from who He is, you cannot make Jesus the appendix of Christmas.

You can’t still celebrate Christmas without the heart of that season. Christ is not the appendix of this time of year. He is the heart and the reason for everything that we celebrate. I understand that pagan religions have developed many of the things that we utilize in our celebrations now. Trees and lights and gifts and carols, food and gatherings; but in the end, this entire month, all celebration is because of one person and the fact that He was born on this earth.

Jesus is not just the reason for the season, but He is the central nervous system of it. He cannot be separated out. Jesus is the season. People have even tried to use the saying “happy holidays” as a way to be inclusive. I really like that saying. The funny thing is that they don’t even realize what they’re saying. It originates as happy “holy” days. No matter what, Jesus is the central focus; He is the heart of the season.

Jesus is not the reason.

Jesus is the season. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Philippians 2:5-11
John 1:1-5,14
Colossians 2:9