I was talking to Andrea last week,  when I told her I think this time of year screws with everyone.  At work, all of a sudden every single request or issue is a matter of life or death.  I honestly think that people let the season consume their lives.  I can probably say I’m guilty of this too.  Getting out to the stores, moving around people, and all of a sudden there is this sense of urgency in my life.  I can’t be 2 minutes late for church, I have to leave immediately, I can’t sit still.  You know the feeling?

I don’t know that this is the best way to celebrate the marked date for the birth of Christ.  I mean becoming a mob of a country from October (only getting earlier every year) all the way to January 1st.  We’re getting lost in shopping, marketing campaigns, and campaigns to “keep Christ in Christmas.”  Shortly after joining that campaign, we tackle a middle aged lady for a Tickle-Me-Elmo, then we run to the line to pay, when that little man jumps in front of us, so we proceed to curse him out.  Then we go to our over-heated homes, and every time we write the word, we put quotations around Christ.

If we are going to start a ‘Keep the Christ in Christmas Campaign’, are we doing it the right way?  Is Christ upset that people want to call it X-mas, or if people want to say “Happy Holidays”?  Personally, I think Jesus probably wouldn’t mind too much.  I don’t remember him ever really getting upset for people not giving him enough credit.  I imagine his desire for us is to love. (And I’m fairly sure tackling that middle aged lady probably isn’t what he had in mind.. no?)  So, if you are part of a keep ‘Christ’ in Christmas campaign, ask yourself, are you living it, or are you merely putting quotes around it?

Remember, the reason we celebrate this time of year is because God sent his only son to save us from our sins.  Not to put lights up, fight for the best parking space, and get our kids the biggest best gift.  Jesus was born, so 30 some odd years later he could carry MY sins on a cross, all the way to the grave, not to insure his name be engraved all over cards, t-shirts, and Facebook Groups.