My sister-in-law posted this photo earlier and it made me laugh. It’s the Christmas story told by my 3-year old nephew, Eli.

Caption this:

This Sunday we heard another great message from my friend and pastor, Phil Pike. He preached a Christmas message, probably not unlike others heard in churches throughout the world this week. The Christmas story is one we’re all familiar with, and one we’ve all heard hundreds of times and know inside and out… or do we really?

I’ve read several blogs recently and seen comments on Twitter, kind of poking fun of the whole ‘keeping Christ in Christmas’ crowd. It’s true, Jesus never said the word ‘Christmas’ in the Bible, nor did he advocate we put up a tree in the middle of our house, hang socks over the fireplace, decorate our car like Rudolph or spend money on gifts we really don’t need. Nor is saying ‘Merry Christmas’ the 11th commandment in the Bible. However, the real reason we celebrate Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Christ. We all know this–and chances are we’ve all learned the saying: “Jesus is the reason for the season”. But do we really understand what that gift really meant or the price it cost for the One who gave us this gift?

Phil put it into a context I’ve never been able to relate to before this year. He talked about how God knowingly sent His one and only Son into a world He knew would reject Him, mock Him and eventually put Him to death on a cross… and He did this so he could save those same hopeless people that would murder His Son.

Phil encouraged us to put ourselves in the Father’s place. Would we be willing to sacrifice our only son or daughter to save anyone, much less someone we knew would put them through all sorts of agony and torture and eventually murder them? NO WAY! That kind of act is unfathomable. I would do everything in my power to protect Landon, to keep him out of harms way and I would gladly give my life for him without hesitation or a second thought. Would you not do the same for your son and/or daughter? Protection is just a natural instinct of parenting.

Now that I’m a father, the Christmas story means so much more to me now. Before, I’ve never really put myself in the Father’s place to try and understand what it really meant for Him to willingly send His one and only Son as a gift of love to save mankind. The same men that He knew in advance would murder Him. The cost was unthinkable, ludicrous and insane, yet He did it anyway. And why? To save us… the ‘children of wrath’ the Bible calls us in Ephesians 2:

“We were then by nature children of God’s wrath and heirs of His indignation, like the rest of mankind.” ~Amplified Bible

I think this is an important distinction to make too. We are not born ‘children of God’. We are not by nature ‘all God’s children’. Before we come to Christ, we are ‘children of wrath’, in complete and total opposition to God. But despite this, the Father loved us anyway and gave His only Son as the payment and holy sacrifice needed so that we can become ‘children of God’.

Why is this distinction important? Because without the Father’s gift of His Son, we are all the same. No matter who we are, what we’ve done, what sins we’ve committed, how unruly and disorderly our lives are–we are all ‘children of wrath’ and stand in complete and total opposition to a holy God (Isaiah 64:6). But because of the Father’s gift of sending His only Son to us, we can have hope, we can have life and we can have complete forgiveness from the Father.

The world has ruined Christmas in many aspects, just as it does with everything it gets its greedy, money-grubbing hands on. To the world, Christmas has become nothing more than an opportunity accumulate more ‘stuff’… stuff that will never truly satisfy the longing in our hearts.

But at the heart of Christmas there is a gift–the greatest gift anyone has ever given. An innocent, defenseless baby boy–the Son of God, wrapped in swaddling clothes. A baby that grew up to be a man and taught us how to live and who willingly surrendered His life to save us all. He is the reason we celebrate Christmas–or at least He should be.

So as you’re enjoying the most wonderful time of the year, doing your last minute shopping and wrapping presents–think about the first Christmas gift and the unthinkable, costly sacrifice God made so that we can truly live.

For several years now, Christmas just hasn’t felt like Christmas to me. Perhaps it’s just a feeling that dissipates with age? Am I the only one that feels this way? All I know is that it’s been a really long time since Christmas didn’t just seem like any other day on the calendar.

There’s a sappy Faith Hill song called “Where Are You Christmas” I’m sure you’ve all heard a million times already this season… it says “if there is love in your heart and your mind, you will feel like Christmas all the time.” Maybe you’re on to something there Faith…

When I really stop to think about it, Christmas stopped feeling like Christmas as I grew up and started to understand economics, marketing and PR. Just like a present wrapped underneath the tree, these ‘three kings’ of our culture have absolutely buried the true essence of the Christmas season behind paper and bows. I rarely see love this time of year, just cash or credit.

What’s worse, Focus on the Family recently published this website asking consumers to rate which retailers are “Christmas-friendly”, all under the guise of “Standing for Christmas”. For example, according to their readers, Bass Pro Shop is 97% friendly, while GAP is 85% offensive.

So does that mean I’m not supposed to shop at GAP? Do I add them to my Christian Boycott Handbook: Christmas Edition now? Do I forward this information to all my friends and family, post it on Facebook so they know to boycott GAP too? What do I do with this wealth of information?

Wait a second… where’s the ‘golden rule’ being applied here? And if ratings really matter, shouldn’t WE (those of us who profess to know Christ) be the ones being rated on our ‘Christmas-friendliness’? We’re the one’s that know the true meaning of Christmas after all. We’re the ones that are called to be the light of the world, are we not?

While the ‘three kings’ mentioned above have certainly taken their toll on Christmas, we can expect that from our materialistic society. But what are WE as Christians doing differently? If Faith Hill is correct (and to an extent I believe she is), what are we doing to show love to others?

According to Focus on the Family, we should expect the world to wish us a hearty “Merry Christmas!” while we grab our bags of clothes and toys. Because if they don’t, by gosh, we’ll rate them into the ground! But wait, for us Christmas isn’t about presents, lights and trees and fat old men in red suits — at least it shouldn’t be, right? Or have we just bought into society’s definition of Christmas?

This year, I want Christmas to feel like Christmas again. I want to care less about what I receive and focus more on what I can give and how I can demonstrate God’s love for others. I believe this is one reason why Christmas has lost it’s “magic” for me.

Maybe it’s something as simple as letting someone ahead of you in line or donating clothes and food to the homeless. Or maybe, just maybe, taking the initiative and wishing the retailer a hearty “Merry Christmas!” without expecting one in return.

Has Christmas stopped feeling like Christmas to you? What are you doing to share God’s love with others this season?