The Spirit of Christmas

Chuckle: If you turn on the lawn sprinklers on Christmas Eve to keep carolers away, you just might be a Scrooge.

Quote: "This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger" (Luke 2:12 NIV).

"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21 NIV). "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23 NIV).

The spirit of Christmas is not about motifs but redemption and salvation. If Christmas becomes only a time for decorations, shopping, and festivities, its significance will have been lost. Unfortunately, this seems to be the case across our land. Even those of us who are Christians are not immune to being caught up in a secular and commercialized Christmas. People often speak of the "spirit of Christmas" as if it is something to be caught while scurrying around in a shopping frenzy. You may have heard someone say, "I went shopping and caught the Christmas spirit." If tired feet, overspending, and standing in long lines constitute the Christmas spirit, we're all in trouble.

To me, the Christmas spirit is a warm feeling of love -- being loved by God, loving others, and being loved by others. It's the spirit that says, "I want to give of myself to someone else." This kind of Christmas spirit comes from God. The real spirit of Christmas begins when we accept the best gift of all, the one born in a stable and laid in a feed trough, the one and only Son of the most high God. When we accept his salvation and forgiveness, we receive the precious gift of His Holy Spirit who lives within us and guides our steps in this life.

In return for his amazing gift, God wants us to give ourselves to him. To do this, we must be willing to abandon self and let God use us as He chooses. If Christ is born in our hearts, God is our Father, and the Holy Spirit is alive within us. Because of this truth, we will serve God by serving our brothers and sisters. As we experience the Spirit of Christmas and begin a new year, let's listen to the words of Jesus. "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant; and whoever wants to be first must be your slave: even as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve" (Matt. 20:26-28 NIV).

If you want to receive the true Spirit of Christmas, you must be God's servant -- you do this by being the servant of others. Look again! "But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights as sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son, into our hearts" (Gal. 4:4-6 NIV).

God sent the Spirit of his Son into your heart, so that out of your heart you cry, "My Father!" If the Christ of Christmas is only a nativity scene on your coffee table, He is not alive in you. If the star of Christmas is only an ornament on the Christmas tree, it has nothing to say. But if Christ of Christmas lives in your heart, He has a message for everyone to hear. From your heart the living Christ causes you to cry out in praise and thanksgiving!

Love, Jerry & Dotse