‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.

“Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.   Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.   For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.   And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:  “Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” Luke 2:8-14 (NKJ)

Here before us, we have two stories. One is fictional, and one is fact. Which one can you repeat easier from memory? Amazingly enough, I personally can do the first word for word. I also can recite the second, but not word for word. So, what lesson can be learned there? It is easier for us to be programmed to listen to a lie than what it is to accept the truth. The lie makes us feel warm and cozy and helps us relate to the season. It helps us remember good times of great Christmases. The true story makes us think of a cold, wintry night with a child sleeping in a manger. It is not full of packages, bows, hot chocolate, or warm fireplaces. But the reality of it all is without the documentation of this spectacular celestial event of the proclamation of the angels talking about the first Christmas, there would be no second story.

The message has gotten lost that Christ came in a lowly manger to release us from the debt of sin and gave us the gift of salvation and eternal life with Him, God and the Holy Spirit. This Christmas may we realize and revisit the foundation of what Christmas without Emmanuel, Christ, God with Us would be like. We would not have this relational holiday of the restoration of man, through amazing grace, which gives us the opportunity to be restored to the Father. So, without Jesus there would be no Christmas tree, Christmas decorations, Christmas dinner, Christmas lights, Christmas songs, Christmas packages, Christmas candles, Christmas cards, Christmas cookies, etc., because without Christ none of these things have meaning.

Remove the word “Christ” from everything that was just listed above, and it’s just another day of the week. Nothing special. For example, a tree, a package, a light, a card, and a song would still exist, but what makes them special this time of year is “Christ” in the word “Christmas”. So, it is in our lives without Christ. It is just another day of the week. But with Christ, every day is a celebration of a lost child (us) who found their Father (God). For example, the song “Every Day With Jesus Is Sweeter Than the Day Before”, which means every day is special because it is Christ-centered. The result is that we live every day as if it were Christmas. It is purpose for us to finish the race and be restored to the Father through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Where will you be this Christmas season? Will you be living in the fictional part of the Christmas story or living in the relational part of the reality of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? Will Christ be in your home and heart this season, and will you be in His home to worship Him which is the assembly of one another in a beautiful sanctuary that we call our churches?

May we find ourselves yearning for the relational part of the story and not the fictional part of the story.

Dr. Brian Brown

Lisbon Church of the Nazarene