It is hard to imagine the weight of the responsibility that Mary and Joseph felt as they held Jesus for the first time. In their hands, they held God in human form. A baby that would one day take away the sin from the world. A baby whose life would mean the end to death as we know it. A baby that would defeat mankind’s most ancient foe. A baby that would change the world forever.
Thousands of years have passed since Jesus was born as a baby in a manger, yet His impact has only increased since that day.
For some reason, however, it seems that we often forget just how big Jesus is.
It never fails that Christians become threatened every year at the idea of Christ being taken out of Christmas. In fact, it was only just a few weeks ago when it seemed like half the Christian world was up in arms at the design of Starbucks’ holiday coffee cups.
I don’t believe that we should be worrying so much about Christ being taken out of Christmas, because I believe Christ is much bigger than Christmas.
In fact, I know He is bigger than Christmas.
Christ is bigger than Christmas, because He is bigger than anything we will ever face in life. There really is no benefit in getting defensive or argumentative about the secularization of Christmas. Although, Jesus deserves recognition from all mankind during Christmas – not all will choose to recognize Him. As Phillipians 2:10 promises – one day “every knee will bow and tongue confess”, however it’s not up to us to force people to do so during Christmas every year.
Think about Jesus’ birth – there were only a few wisemen and shepherds willing to give Him proper recognition and worship at the time of His birth. I do understand the heart behind the statement “keep Christ in Christmas”, but I don’t feel that it is necessary that we spend our efforts coercing people to do so.
God makes a bold declaration in Revelation 22:13 about His permanence…
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Revelation 22:14
God promises that He is the beginning… AND the end.
I believe that to be true for Christmas and for everything else in this life. The evidence of His permanence and His impact is all around us.
I know God’s permanence to be true every time I walk into a church that has outlasted ongoing persecution and hardship for thousands of years,
I know this every time I see a marriage restored, an addiction broken and a person set free from lifeless religion.
I know this when I look at my own life and see where He has helped when I was helpless and loved me when I was unlovable.
I know this, because of soup kitchens… hospitals… and countless other charities that have been started in the name of Christ.
I know this when I hear a Martin Luther King Jr speech that was inspired by the life that Jesus lived.
I know this when we recite the pledge of allegiance and repeat the line “One nation under God”.
Jesus doesn’t just own one day out of the year; He owns them all. Jesus is bigger than any holiday season and any persecution or secularization that exists in this world. Jesus is bigger than Christmas, because Jesus is bigger than life itself.