Why We Celebrate Christmas

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, and Other Addresses

Christmas. The word carries several meanings these days. I agree with Lewis. We are half-hearted creatures that have turned a time of unfathomable and infinite joy and celebration into a season of shallow and limited joys that flutter away in the winds of the passing years. Christmas has become, for many of us, a season of making mud pies in this slum we call the world.

We live in an age where the truth is under attack. One where words are redefined to protect emotional comfort and the very meaning of life is answered a hundred different ways. Reality has become relative. However, the believing Christian can never lose sight of the reality of Christmas. For him, it is life. We have to turn to the Bible to understand what Christmas really stands for, and the only question that you really need to ask yourself is if this is the truth.

God is God and He is eternal, unchanging and sovereign. That means He is the beginning and the end of all things. He rules over all His creation and is never overcome, never defeated. He never changes and none can thwart His plans. On the other hand, we, the only creation privileged to be made after His own image, have disobeyed Him and sinned. We are like the vapour that disappears as fast as it appears, changed by every wind of doctrine and unable to add even an hour to our life on earth. The sin against an eternal God deserves an eternal judgment and as a consequence of sin that’s rampant in all of humanity, we are all justly deserving of death. So, you see, life is merely a march into the flames of God’s eternal justice ordained by His wrath. All that talk about Christmas being a season of giving and sharing, of stories of Mr. Scrooge, the Grinch and Santa are all mud pies. Agreed that these aren’t necessarily sins in themselves. However, the truth is, they often end up being served up as distractions that keep us ignorant to the real celebration. Consequentially, we cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. What, then, is the real celebration?

That death was defeated so that we may be spared the wrath to come, that we may have eternal life. How? A baby was born. Not just any baby, but the Creator God Himself came down in human flesh to redeem His people. Who are His people? Those who would believe in His Name – Jesus Christ – repent of their sins and live for His glory. We celebrate Christmas because our Saviour was born, Christ the Lord.“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16