Christmas is past and is maybe just a dim memory. On the day after Christmas, I like to gather up the wrapping paper to throw away (or recycle). I try to take down and store away the tree and all of the Christmas decorations. Once Christmas is over, I want things to get back to “normalâ€.
However, there is one part of Christmas that I want to keep forever. That is Jesus. We might say that the part of Christmas that we should keep is the love, good will, cheerfulness and peace of this special time of year. At no other time is the world so happy and friendly to each other. And yet, these are only superficial expressions.
We need to remember that Jesus is the reason for the Season. All of the good feelings and all of the good deeds that come with Christmas are temporary and fleeting. That baby that we celebrate is eternal.Â
The Christmas carol, “Good Christian Men Rejoice†contains the line: “Christ was born to save†which reminds me of the reason that Jesus came to us as a baby. He didn’t stay as that infant in the manger, He grew to become the “Son of manâ€. He went to the cross, was crucified, buried, and rose again. He did this to save us and to give us eternal life with Him.
So, as we gather up and put away the “trappings of Christmasâ€, we need to be careful to not throw away the Baby with the wrapping paper. Christmas has meaning only because we know that Easter is coming and God’s Gift is being fulfilled in the life and death of His Son, Jesus.Â
Joy to the World is complete when we sing “Hallelujah, Christ Aroseâ€.