Putting Christ Back Into Christmas

Putting Christ Back into Christmas Now that Thanksgiving has passed, the Christmas season is upon us. Just today, while walking with Lulu, we noticed a home with pillars. On each pillar was a big, red ribbon – a sure indication that people are getting into the Christmas spirit. It won’t be long until I either read or hear the phrase, “Put Christ Back into Christmas”. I know what the phrase means. It means that the holiday has lost its sacred emphasis. It means that a meaningless secular emphasis has become paramount and the true meaning should be reclaimed. For some, “putting Christ back into Christmas” is pretty simple: let the public school children sing carols at the school; and do not shop at stores that eliminate the phrase “Merry Christmas” by substituting “Happy Holidays.” Let’s get away from the simplistic, emotional stuff. Yes, I think public school children should be able to sing “Silent Night”. This is, after all, a Christian holiday. And I prefer “Merry Christmas” to “Happy Holidays” any time. But this is not really “putting Christ back into Christmas” to me. Do you really want to “put Christ back into Christmas”? Remember that the church is called “the Body of Christ” in 1 Corinthians 12. Among other things, that means that we are supposed to be doing what Jesus would do if He were on earth physically today. You can put Christ back into Christmas by doing what He would do. Is you church having a food drive to replenish the shelves at The Salvation Army in Alliance, Ohio? If not, don’t wait, go ahead and purchase some staple and canned goods and take them, with your children, down to 57 E. Main Street in Alliance. Let the children walk in with the groceries to feed the hungry in our community. Let them experience the joy of giving. Do it in the Name of Jesus – that would be putting Christ back into Christmas. Do you know a boy or girl whose prospects for a Christmas gift are bleak? Why not make an additional purchase for that child and his or her family. Invite the child and his or her family over to your home for Christmas lunch, give a small gift and tell them that Jesus loves and cares for them. That would be putting Christ back into Christmas. Do you have a family member with whom you are estranged? Make a call either on the phone or physically and seek to restore the relationship. Take a meaningful gift – like a grocery store gift card. Let the person know you are doing this because Jesus told us to do so. That would be putting Christ back into Christmas, too. Do you know someone who is all alone, perhaps elderly and unable to get out? Visit him or her. Take a small block of cheese and a box of Ritz crackers as a gift. Then visit for a half hour or so. Let the person know you are doing this because Jesus loves us all. That would be putting Christ back into Christmas. I think we can all agree that a thoughtful gesture or deed done in the Name of Jesus would go a long way toward… Putting Christ back into Christmas.