As we approach this Festive season, one question remains very key: what is the meaning of Christmas to Christians? Is it just any other celebration or is it all about eating and drinking? Is Christmas all about doing new things, meeting new friends, travelling or doing something you always wanted to do?
As I grew up as a child, one of the notable events my siblings and I couldn’t forget was the festive season. To us, having been brought up in rural area it was all about having fun with friends. This was a day to display new fashions, showing ourselves to friends, eating and drinking, visiting market places and witnessing funny things just to mention a few.
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When I grew up and gave my life to Christ, I started to think about this critically, I felt inside me that there was more to Christmas than mere celebrations. I therefore embarked on research from the scriptures and came up with the following findings.
Christmas Day is NOT the Real Birthday for Jesus Christ
When we read the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation, there is no single verse indicating that Christ was born on 25th December. As kids, we were made to believe that this was the real birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ only to find that there was no biblical back up.
When you search the internet and books, you don’t find any reasonable information truth that Christians should celebrate the birth of Christ on 25th December. In fact, the origin of this specific day sound secular and therefore baseless.
Having said that then, we need to ask ourselves, is the day important? As for me, the day isn’t important as opposed to what happened. The bible in Matthew 1-2; Luke 1-2, clearly describe to us what exactly happened prior, during and after the birth of Christ.
When you read in the prophesies of Jesus and all information provided, God did not let us know the exact typical calendar date when Jesus was born. There are however other many dates that are clearly known in the bible, but this one God didn’t want us to know.
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This may then mean that God wants us to concentrate with the events that are plainly described in the entire bible including prophecies of his birth and place.
A Meaningful Christmas Celebration is a Demonstration of Love
What is the meaning of Christmas to Christians then? If the date is not well stipulated in the bible, does it have any significance in our lives? The answer is YES, unfortunately there are countless events in the bible doesn’t give all the details. Does it mean they are not important? Of course not.
The birth of Christ is of paramount importance but we must train ourselves to take and accept what is revealed and work with it. Deuteronomy 29:29, the secret things belong to the Lord but the revealed things belong to us and our children. If it’s not revealed it shouldn’t bother us to an extend of missing the main point of the story.
What therefore is the main focus of the birth of Christ? Right in John 3:16, we see what prompted God the Father to send the Son to earth is LOVE. This is the main theme of the entire bible. In 1John 4:7-8, God is Love and whoever doesn’t love doesn’t know God.
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One thing we know about love is that it’s impossible to love and not give, but it’s possible to give without love. So the best demonstration of this great love was to give His Son as a sacrifice and an atonement for sin, Romans 3:25; 1John 4:10.
Love pushed God to send His Son on earth and the same love made Christ to die on the cross on our behalf. This is a demonstration of amazing grace and love in action.
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Now, if this is so, then during the Christmas celebration, it’s a time of expressing and reciprocating the same love to others. One thing I love about love is that it’s contagious, once you have been shown love and mercy, you are expected to reflect it on others.
We reflect the love of Christ by sharing with others the love which involves, sharing the gospel, sharing material things with others. Giving a hand of assistance to the needy because we know that giving to the poor is lending to God (Proverbs 19:17).
In Christmas, ‘CHRIST’ Must be Present
Christmas therefore is not just a mere celebration as many people think. If you want to see a difference in your life, you must celebrate it with a revelation. The fundamental basis of a meaningful Christmas is making sure that Christ is present.
I see this many times, that Christmas is written as “Xmas”. Letter ‘X’ signifies that Christ has been omitted from the whole idea of Christmas. So now, it’s mass with no Christ and this is whereby you find people having all sorts of celebrations including non-believers.
To have a difference therefore, you must have Christ in the right place – on the throne of your life, family, business, education, endeavors, celebrations, etc. This idea of having mass without Christ is the root cause of many problems we have experienced in the name of celebrating Christmas.
How then do we make sure that Christ is present in Christmas? The first and foundational thing is to allow Christ become Lord and Savior of your life (Romans 10:9-10). Secondly, is by making sure that during these celebrations you prioritize pleasing God in all you do. By this I mean seeking to live a holy life (1Peter 1:15-16).
In Conclusion
In this post, I have tried to discuss about the meaning of Christmas to Christians and it’s my hope you able to grasp important aspects that will help you celebrate a meaningful Christmas. One clear thing is that the date – the 25th December is not important at all, the most important thing is the events mentioned in the scriptures that are commemorated.
We have said discussed that Christmas celebration is greatly and should be a demonstration of real love to ourselves and others just as Christ did. The bible teaches us to love others as we love ourselves. This means that the first and foremost is to love yourself so that you can be able to do the same to others. During Christmas, we demonstrate this love by giving and sharing what God has blessed us with.
Finally, we leaned that we need to celebrate Christmas ie. Mass with Christ and not ‘X-mas’ (Christ omitted). Anyone who does that has something to regret about after the celebrations. Am sure that you are among those who wouldn’t want to regret after Christmas Celebrations.
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