As I was checking FB the other day, I received a
question by a friend from India.
Apparently, a friend of his was wondering about the validity of Christians
celebrating Christmas, and he was wondering why we celebrated this holiday, and
was it biblical? And as is usually the case with questions such
as this, there is no short answer, but I will do my best.
Scripture doesn't specifically command believers to
celebrate Christmas; there are no prescribed "Holy Days" the church
must observe. At the same time, there
doesn’t seem to be a command not to celebrate this holiday either. In fact, Christmas was not observed as a holiday
until well after the biblical era. In researching this topic, it appears that
Christmas wasn’t officially celebrated for at least the first 300 years of
church history. And it wasn’t until the
13th century when Christmas carols were sung. Apparently
the Germans started this whole Christmas tree thing. An 8th century English missionary to Germany,
St. Boniface, is supposed to have held up the evergreen tree as a symbol of the
everlasting Christ. By the end of the
sixteenth century, Christmas trees were common in Germany.
So I guess the big question is, whether it is right or
wrong to celebrate the birth of Christ.
Isn’t that what this is all about?
I’m sure we all agree that Jesus was born to be the Savior to the world,
but should we celebrate His arrival? At
this point I would like to direct your attention to Romans 14:5-6 which says, “One
man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day
alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one
day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he
gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks
to God.”
I believe these verses provides us with the liberty to
decide whether or not we are allowed to observe special days. According to these verses, a Christian can
rightfully set aside any day—including Christmas—as a day for the Lord. And I believe Christmas affords believers with
a great opportunity to exalt Jesus Christ.
Why? Because the
Christmas season reminds us of the great truths of the Incarnation. Remembering important truths about Christ and
the gospel is an established New Testament theme (1 Corinthians 11:25, 2 Peter
1:12-15, 2 Thessalonians 2:5). Truth
needs repetition because we so easily forget it. So we should celebrate Christmas to remember the birth of Christ and to
marvel over the mystery of the Incarnation. (When Jesus assumed human form)
Christmas can also be a time for reverent worship. The shepherds glorified and praised God for
the birth of Jesus the Messiah. They
rejoiced when the angels proclaimed that in Bethlehem was born a Savior, Christ
the Lord (Luke 2:10-11). The baby laid
in the manger that day is our Savior, the "Lord of lords and King of
kings" (1 Timothy 6:15, Matthew 1:21, Revelation 17:14).
Finally, people tend to be more open to the gospel during
the Christmas holidays. We should take
advantage of that openness to witness
to them of the saving grace of God through Jesus Christ. Christmas is chiefly
about the promised Messiah who came to save His people from their sins (Matthew
1:21). The holiday provides us with a
wonderful opportunity to share this truth.
Although our society has muddied the message of Christmas
through consumerism, myths and empty traditions, we should not let these
distract us from appreciating the real meaning of Christmas. Let us take advantage of this opportunity to Remember Him, Worship Him and faithfully Witness of Him.
Can God change
your life?
God has made it
possible for you to know Him and experience an amazing change in your own life.
Discover how you
can find peace with God.
No comments:
Post a Comment