A Christmas Choice

Option A or option B? Everyone has a choice to make this Christmas, and everyone will either choose option A or option B. There is no option C, and there is no option to not choose. Actively or passively, this Christmas season, everyone will choose either option A, or option B. Would you like to know what they are?

Option A. Let’s call this “Secular Christmas.” Secular Christmas means that Christmas is all about…well…Christmas. All the hype that begins on November 1 ^st is because of the gifts we will give and receive on Christmas Day. It’s about the meals we will share with family, and about the happy feelings we will all experience that day. Secular Christmas tells us to send Christmas cards to all we know, to buy the perfect gift for friends, family, and sometimes strangers. Secular Christmas is literally about the holiday of Christmas.

Option B. We will call option B “Christian Christmas.” Christian Christmas asks us to make the holiday about Christ and his birth. All the hype that beings November 1 ^st is about the coming of a new born king, and Christmas day is about the birth of that king, and what it means for our salvation. In case you were unsure, Christian Christmas is about Christ.

Now some Christmas’ I have chosen option A and some I have chosen option B. I can tell you the difference between these options in one word: Purpose.

When I was younger I always choose option A. And when I was significantly younger it worked well for me. I would make my list, send my cards, and eagerly wait to see what I was going to receive Christmas day! But eventually I found that I needed less and less stuff, and receiving things was nice, but not as nice as it used to be. Receiving gifts had kind of lost purpose for me.

The natural thing to do then is to focus on giving! That is the other half of Secular Christmas, giving! So I sent out more cards, and tried to find the perfect gift for everyone each year. But eventually that lost purpose too, because the people I was buying for also needed less stuff, just like myself.

Something else happened too. There was SO much hype about Christmas from November 1 ^st on, and so much excitement, and then Christmas day itself seemed to come and go so quickly it became very anticlimactic. All that excitement over a few simple hours, and about giving gifts, and then it was over. It was over just as quickly as it came. It almost made me ask the question: What’s the point of it all?

But then in choosing option B, Christian Christmas, something changes. All these aspects of Christmas that lost meaning for me over time, gain meaning again. Being excited about Christmas on November 1 ^st makes sense because Jesus’ coming is a big deal! Giving and receiving gifts is not just something we do, its mirroring, in a most humble manner, God who gave us the best gift on Christmas day.

Then finally, even though the day lasts just a few hours and then is over, it’s ok. It’s ok because the day was not about giving and receiving gifts, and the day was not about cards and songs. It was about Jesus coming, and after Christmas day is over, we still have him, the one we were waiting for.

This brings us back to the beginning. You have a choice to make this Christmas: Option A or Option B. Which one will you choose this Holiday?