Soon the season’s festivities are over, and Christmas trees and decorations will be dismantled and tucked away.
Is Christmas a season or a one-day affair only? How can we celebrate Christmas daily? Read this Christmas Day message.
“Merry Christmas” is the most uttered phrase or greeting each Christmas season, spoken an infinite number of times by people worldwide.
For many, the peak of the Christmas celebration is on 25th December. Our greeting of one another seems to intensify as Christmas Day comes. We love to celebrate Christmas, aren’t we?
However, we all know that all the Christmas decorations won’t stay throughout the year. They will all be gone as soon as the New Year starts.
Late last night, we took the time to go around Oamaru town proper to see the Christmas lights and decorations. The town’s giant Christmas tree looks grand and beautiful, but this tree will indeed be dismantled eventually.
If we love celebrating Christmas and want to honour Jesus Christ, we should face the challenge of celebrating Christmas daily.
Imagine if we are indeed to celebrate Christmas Day every day with the way the world is doing it.
Keeping and maintaining the decorations and lights will be very expensive. Not only those, but you will also prepare Christmas lunch every day.
Indeed, it is impossible to celebrate Christmas every day this way.
How to celebrate Christmas every day?
Let the exhortation of the Apostle Paul in Philippians 2:3-11 guide us.
3 Don’t let selfishness and prideful agendas take over. Embrace true humility, and lift your heads to extend love to others. 4 Get beyond yourselves and protecting your own interests; be sincere, and secure your neighbors’ interests first.
5 In other words, adopt the mind-set of Jesus the Anointed. Live with His attitude in your hearts. Remember:
6 Though He was in the form of God,
PHILIPPIANS 2:1-11 (tHE VOICE)
He chose not to cling to equality with God;
7 But He poured Himself out to fill a vessel brand new;
a servant in form
and a man indeed.
The very likeness of humanity,
8 He humbled Himself,
obedient to death—
a merciless death on the cross!
9 So God raised Him up to the highest place
and gave Him the name above all.
10 So when His name is called,
every knee will bow,
in heaven, on earth, and below.
11 And every tongue will confess
“Jesus, the Anointed One, is Lord,”
to the glory of God our Father!
Yes, every day, let us keep the humble spirit, acknowledging that all we are and all we have are because of God’s overflowing and never-ceasing mercies and grace.
Embrace authentic humility and lift your head to extend love to others.
Are you ready to break your seasonal celebration of Christmas by shifting from symbolic giving to total sacrificial giving, as Jesus has done?
It’s easy to give gifts on Christmas, but it’s very challenging to go out of your comfort zone, “pour out” yourself and be involved in uplifting the quality of life of your fellowmen throughout the year.
Take your Christian service to the next level by actively serving humanity and for the glory of God.
Celebrating Christmas daily requires a lifelong commitment. It doesn’t stop on 25th December and only resumes next year’s Christmas season again.
Jesus Christ’s example is “becoming obedient to death.”
I hope Christmas isn’t just the highlight of our holiday season, nor one of the statutory holidays to meet and celebrate with family and friends.
May our celebration and excitement about Christmas won’t falter nor die down.
May our greeting one another “Merry Christmas” and giving gifts to our children, loved ones, and friends lead to our recognising and achieving the more significant challenge of celebrating Christmas daily, as long as we live and until He comes.
