What We're Doing Wrong This Christmas

You are wearing a bright Christmas red sweater and toasty fuzzy socks as you walk into your family’s living room. The huge Christmas tree winks at you with those cheery blinking lights that drive your mom insane. You hear your little siblings laughing as Dad makes hot chocolate for the ones who don’t like eggnog. You smile, loving the warm, holiday fun with your family. Now you notice the radio playing. Strains of the profound hymn Fall on Your Knees reach your ears.

O holy night

The stars are brightly shining

It is the night of our dear Savior's birth

Long lay the world in sin and error pining

Till He appeared and the soul felt it's worth

The thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices

For yonder brinks a new and glorious morn

Fall on your knees

O hear the angel voices

O night divine

O night when Christ was born

O night divine

O night, O night divine

Truly He taught us to love one another

His law is love and His gospel is peace

Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother

And in His name all oppression shall cease

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we

Let all within us praise His holy name

You close your eyes, letting the truths behind the lyrics fill your heart. Christmas is a wonderful time, you think, to dwell on the miracle of Christ’s birth and the purpose for which He was born—the purpose of dying.

Then, the song is over and another one starts.

You better watch out

You better not cry

Better not pout

I'm telling you why

Santa Claus is coming to town

He's making a list

And checking it twice;

He's gonna find out

Who's naughty or nice

Santa Claus is coming to town

He sees you when you're sleeping

He knows when you're awake

He knows if you've been bad or good

So be good for goodness sake!

These songs are played back to back on Christian radio stations. When Christmas time rolls around, it’s like our country celebrates two things—Jesus’s birth and Santa Claus?

We hold up the embarrassingly trivial to the infinitely profound.

Why do we do this? I believe it’s because some people want to take Christ out of Christmas, so they create a jolly, belly bouncing, white-bearded man with a red coat and white trim. They want something else to celebrate. Now it’s becoming so a part of our culture that Christians are learning to celebrate Santa Claus too.

But what is Christmas really about?

“He has no stately form or majesty

That we should look upon Him.

Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.

He was despised and forsaken of men,

A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;

And like one from whom men hide their face

He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Surely our griefs He Himself bore,

And our sorrows He carried;

Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,

Smitten of God, and afflicted.

But He was pierced through for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our iniquities;

The chastening for our wellbeing fell upon Him,

And by His scourging we are healed.

All of us like sheep have gone astray.

Each of us has turned to his own way;

But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all

To fall on Him.”

Isaiah 53:2b-6

This is what Christmas is about. We sinned. We were separated from God because He is holy and He cannot abide with unholiness. His wrath had to fall on us—on you and me—to eternally separate God and man through eternal death.

But God loved us.

Yet, God cannot take our penalty because God cannot die.

However, God incarnate—God born as a man—could die and take our punishment.

Jesus was born of a virgin so that He could walk on earth, experience our pain, struggles, and weaknesses, and, ultimately, die.

Jesus stood in the line of fire and somehow, in a way humans will probably never understand, took eternities of wrath for each of us.

“The next day [John] saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

John 1:29

Now we can be reconciled to Him. Now we can have meaning and purpose in our lives. Now we can spend eternity with Him.

Ladies, let’s not replace this with Santa Claus. Let’s show the world this miracle of Jesus’ birth, and let’s keep the Christ in Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

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