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A Day-After Christmas Reflection
- 12/26/09
- 24
Yesterday was a good day. How could it be otherwise, really? We were together as a family: my parents, my brother, my three sisters with their husbands and children and, of course, my wife and kids. It was a wonderful kind of chaos as the twenty-one of us crammed into quite a small house to celebrate Christmas. We laughed and ate and exchanged gifts and cuddled nieces and nephews. But mostly we just talked. It was beautiful.
One thing we did not do was any overt celebration or remembrance of Jesus’ birth. This has never been part of our family tradition, perhaps because my parents were not raised as Christians and hence did not have it as part of their background. Or perhaps because when they were saved they found themselves in conservative, Scottish-influenced circles where Christmas was not celebrated in that way. Either way, our family has always loved Christmas and has always been grateful to God for it, but without specifically making it a day to celebrate the birth of Christ.
There has been a sense in which I’ve felt a little guilty about this, especially when so many Christians heap so much attention on this day. For a while it seemed that we might have been among a majority of Christians; today is seems that we are part of a slim minority. That’s how it feels, anyway.
And yesterday, as I thought about this, I realized that I really have no cause to feel remorse or regret. What gives December 25 its value is not that we dedicate it to special remembrance of the birth of Jesus, though certainly that is a fine thing to do (Romans 14:5). What gives December 25 its value is that Jesus is alive. It is another day for each of us, given in trust and given in love. It is a day we are to use in God’s service and for God’s glory. For some this means setting it aside as a day to mark Jesus’ birthday; for others it means spending time with family and friends and enjoying the good gifts of family and fellowship—these things that have inherent value in being blessings from the hand of God.
I suppose it comes down to this: we do not need to attribute to the day any extra meaning or any extra significance in order for it to be a valuable day or in order to wring from it its greatest worth. The greatest significance of December 25 is that it is a good gift from a good God given for our delight and his glory.
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Comments (24)
Tim:Thank you for this post. There is a freedom and delight in just enjoying the good gifts God has given us. Family times are holy even if they involve the chaos of crowded bathrooms and cuddling little munchkins.
Dawn Carter@decart
It would be interesting to know if you’re part of a small minority or not. Our family is much like yours. We love the day, but it’s not really any more about Jesus than any other day. I have sometimes felt guilty about that but, like you, have pretty much come to terms with it and think it’s OK and suits us well.
Thank you so much for this post Tim! You can add one more person to the minority :) Although I was raised to celebrate Christmas as Jesus’ birth, I have a very hard time doing so since God saved me. Great post!
I wrote the same sentiments in my journal this morning! Thanks for your insights…
Well said, my friend. I’m glad that you had a wonderful Christmas, and I thank you for this meaningful post.
I’ve quietly struggled with this, too. We read Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth before we open gifts on Christmas morning but much of the emphasis that we put on this day leads up to it rather than what we do on December 25th.
Glad to know that I have not been alone in wrestling with this and feel a bit more freedom after having read your post.
Thanks
www.kenwords.com
“There has been a sense in which I’ve felt a little guilty about this, especially when so many Christians heap so much attention on this day.”
Thanks for sharing that.
I have gone through so many different mindsets about Christmas. From a child, till now. And since 1984, when the Lord finally began to take my heart of stone, and give me a tender heart, I have also changed, or matured in different ways I think about this holiday, or holy day.
I love to be with the fam and exchange gifts, especially the grandsons.
I asked my 9 year old grandson, “Josh, have you had a good Christmas so far?” He said, “This has been the best Christmas ever!”
And we have tons of fun. We also talk about the Scriptures a lot more, which is great.
Thanks for the post. It made me think, and it was encouraging as well.
The Son has set us free, and we are free indeed to love Jesus, and not be ashamed of our love for Him, because He first loved us.
There seems to be a majority of us joining the minority. We took a bit of extra time in prayer before our meals to acknowledge the gracious Gift that our Father gave us a couple thousand years ago. Thanks, Tim, for your transparency and wise words.
God bless,mark
Last year I read the Christmas story from Luke, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. This year I decided to read some scriptures from John 1:1-14, Heb 1:1-3 and Matt 20:28 and in the proses of reading I shared the gospel. This did not seem to go over very well. It started argument with my mother-in law who is a Catholic. I think next year I will just stick to family talk so that we can all enjoy day without any conflict.God bless, Jay
All of the above is doubtless true. However, Dec 25th is also a day when many unsaved/unchurched people actually consider going to a service - it is a wonderful mission opportunity! How sad it would be if the church was empty when they get there…..
Your post gave me a sigh of relief. Thank you for it!!
I didn’t grow up a Christian, didn’t know what a Bible was until I was 24 (yes, right here in America… in California). So when I became a Christian, I thought I had to dismiss all signs of the holiday unless it was filled with Jesus talk. So the first two yrs., I was pretty overzealous and well, downright annoying. This yr. (the 3rd yr. I’ve known the Lord), God has really worked on me to tone it down and know that He is honored even if we do gift giving, don’t talk about Him 24/7, etc. It’s much better! We did use the day to evangelize the neighbors with gospel material and a short note and a gift for each person, but as far as family goes (none are saved), no mention of Jesus at all (they want nothing to do with Him and have made it very known!) so they all got handmade gifts and there was no hatred about the gospel going on.
I think a good balance is giving the gospel to those who haven’t heard it from us before, but for those who have and hate Him, “do” Christmas for them as a picture of love for them in good works. Possibly God will use it to grant repentance :)
Thanks for your post on this. Your blog continually helps bring more and more freedom to my life in Christ.
I’m sorry but I have to disagree with you. Although I know that we should be thankful for the birth, life, death and resurrection of the Lord all year round, I think its important to have a dedicated day when we remember the act of him being born into this world.
Evangelism and sharing the gospel can be done on Christmas Day, but I believe that keeping it Christ-centered is the key to doing this.
In response to the comment by Jay, I think that if when other people, even family members, are offended by the gospel, we aren’t to stop talking about the Lord just to keep the peace! Surely the message of the bible is that we are to witness all the time, in our actions but also in our conversation.
” I think its important to have a dedicated day when we remember the act of him being born into this world”
Nothing wrong with this. Some esteem one day above the rest and some treat all days equally. Both ought to be convinced in their own mind and be live with the brother who disagrees.
Question, though, for all the people who don’t treat Dec 25th with any extra attention to the birth of Jesus: Do you attend churches that focus/preach using the church calendar (particularly season of Advent) as a guide, or do the churches just continue with services as usual?
Thanks-mike
“The greatest significance of December 25 is that it is a good gift from a good God given for our delight and his glory.” I’ll think you’d agree Tim - as is every other day. Whilst being brought up a fairly staunch Reformed Presbyterian and steeped in the Puritans, Christmas was seen to be of the ‘papists’. As such there was no overt religious or Christian significance placed upon it. Today I have no beef with those who attach humungous significance to it in a ‘Christian’ sense. I often play the Messiah in toto on Christmas morning, Beyond that, Christmas day (in the southern hemisphere) was celebrated to the glory of God as a family day.
My heart and soul aches as I read this post and comments, if Christmas is not a day to celebrate the coming of the Messiah, the beginning of the rescue mission for sinners, the incarnation of God Himself, then….i am at a loss for words and heart broken that the birth of the Savior would be removed and ignored from the Christian celebration or Christmas.Maybe I am misinterpreting this post but that is what reads like to me.Christmas is all about the birth of Christ
I think its important to remember that there is not a thing in scripture in the form of a command to celebrate “Christmas” as one would partake in communion or baptism. It is not a sin to celebrate Christmas any more than it would be a sin to NOT celebrate Christmas. A lot of Christmas tradition these days has to do with where you grow up in our world. For example, Uzbek Christians celebrate the new year but not Christmas day…does that mean they consider our Saviour’s birth any less important?
Lets try not to get stuck on the “taking Christ out of Christmas/Jesus is the reason for the season” debate and focus on how each of our individual families can keep our Christ in “Christ-ian” this day and the other 364 days of the year as well.
It’s worth remembering that those who do not particularly remember Christ’s birth on 25th December are not neglecting to remember the incarnation. The whole reason we worship on the first day of the week and not the last is because we believe and rejoice in the incarnation and resurrection of our Saviour.
Yeah just a couple notes:
Early Christians do not seem to celebrate the birth of Christ at all. The crucifixion and much more importantly, the resurrection, is where almost all of the focus is.
Definitely no command to celebrate the birth of Christ (This is not an argument from silence, because I am not saying, “it does not mention it therefore we SHOULDN’T do it.” I’m saying, “It does not mention it therefore we don’t HAVE to do it.”)
Bible makes clear in some spots that some people choose to make one day of more importance than others while others treat them all equally. Definitely cannot impugn those who do not elevate Christmas.
Thank you for the freedom to enjoy a celebration of family and love without feeling guilty that Jesus is not the center of it.
We acknowledge that this day is a holiday intended to remember the incarnation. But the center of it is a good gift of God, the family and the children.
Thanks for your thoughts, Tim. My husband and I are new to the Reformed Presbyterian church, and it’s been an interesting and thought-provoking change to not have palm-branch-waving Easter services or explicitly ‘Christmas’ sermons in December. The regulative principle is the reason for this: that there are no prescribed ‘holy days’ in the Bible. I think most families (including mine) enjoy regular Christmas celebrations, and we did have a really fun church Christmas party last Saturday, but the focus on the Lord’s Day is the worship of God and celebrating His birth AND resurrection every week.
I have always loved Christmas . Even before God awakened my dead heart , it still seemed to be something different. Having grown up in a non-christian home , my Mom still had enough cultural influence form Christianity to tell us about the birth of Jesus . Plus coming from the Charlie Brown Christmas special generation .Who cannot forget Linus reciting the Luke chapter 2.
So we make a pretty big deal at our house , using advent and making sure that Christmas is focused around the incarnation of God. Plus I think it is a good thing to celebrate it along with the crucifixion and resurrection . If there was no birth of Jesus , it goes without saying , there would be no redemption or cross, They are linked . Plus I have never had more opportunity to speak about Jesus then this season .
The mere fact as well that God sent a Angel to announce this good news to the Shepherds , and not just one ,I think gives a bit of a mandate to shout to the world that Christ has come. Granted we should be doing this all year, but if the whole world pauses for a second because some Christians, declared it a good thing to mark one day to commemorate the coming of God to earth , that is a good thing.
So I make no apologies for loving the celebration of Christmas and agree with RC Sproul who said their are way too many Scrooges going about humbug at Christmas .
Hi Tim, I’m not sure why your family gets together for something called “Christmas” if Christ isn’t the focus. People continue to quote verses about not esteeming one day over the other, but they still all get together with family for a special occasion. It’s not a Familyday, it’s Christmas Day. If they don’t esteem that day, why is everyone gathering on THAT DAY? Christ should be preemminent in everything we do. When society has a holiday to remember the birth of Christ, why would christians (of all people) leave Him out of it? If you feel ‘guilty’, isn’t that your conscience? Do not defile your conscience. Our testimony to our families and the world should be that Christ is lifted up as a priority (especially when the world is looking to see if Christ really has transformed our lives). God Bless. David.
Interesting post Tim.
I’ve always seen Christmas as both a family/cultural celebration and a specific celebration of Jesus birth.This year was no different except that I did a little thinking, particularly about Advent. My general line of thought was, if I observe Advent (even loosely) why not Lent, and everything else on the “church calendar”.Further, since so much of the church calendar is specifically Catholic and not Christian at all, does not Advent represent, in some small way, a step in that direction?And if Advent, why no Christmas.
Not saying Christmas, or even Advent, are bad at all. I didn’t reach any conclusions at all. I just wonder at what point do we step away from the “church calendar”? After all, at some point we certainly must.
Candice you will find that deep down most RP types long to be able to ‘celebrate’ the true meaning of Christmas, but are afraid to go against the regulative principle or seen to disobey their elders. Likewise a lot of RP adopt a strict sabbatarian view of Sunday/Lords Day but deep down are closet Sabbath breakers who again live in fear.