It's the most wonderful time of the year! The town is filled with Christmas décor, the Christmas songs are jingling, Santa Claus has finally made it into town and has set-up shop at the mall. “Happy Holidays!” we now hear people cheerfully exclaim and we can feel the excitement of the Christmas season. The work parties, the endless chocolate presents and before we know it, we've shopped until we're broke.
The Christmas season?
Yes, it's that time of the year again. The Christmas season or should I say the Holiday season. A time that was traditionally used to celebrate the birth of the son of God, Jesus Christ, has now become so commercialised that we get more caught up with the season's worldly and self-indulgent ways. Jesus Christ has been scratched off the scene to make way for the apparently more “joyful” fleshly desires.
Worldly distractions
As Christians, it can be quite challenging at this time of the year to remain focused on the real reason for Christmas when most of the world around us is telling us to forget about Christ.
Who is Santa Claus and how is that even related to Jesus Christ? Even if he has 'saintly' origins, should the emphasis be on Santa and his gift giving or should it be on God's gift to the world found in His only son Jesus Christ? Should Santa even make an appearance in our churches today?
Furthermore, should Christians yield to cultural norm at the expense of compromising on following the word of God?
Remaining true to Christ
Before beginning to sound overly negative about the Christmas season, the point I’m trying to make here is that I believe that Christians should remain and make every effort to remain true to Christ regardless of the worldly influence. We need not be overly concerned about the world being the world.
However, our primary concern should be to keep our eyes focused on doing the will of God. Ask ourselves the question whether what we do or say is truly reflective of what God intends for us as His children. Do we present ourselves as good ambassadors for Christ when we do as the world does?
Fix our eyes on Jesus
The Christmas season presents a great opportunity to celebrate the birth of the One that brought true love, peace and joy. We even have the opportunity to let others know the real reason why we celebrate Christmas by sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It is great to see the number of ways people use this season to show Christ’s love. From churches that provide meals for the homeless, to those that invite someone that is alone to a family Christmas lunch.
My hope is that I don’t get easily distracted by worldly desires. Not only during this Christmas season, but in every season. I hope that with God’s help, I can run from evil things and instead pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance and gentleness [1 Timothy 6 verse 11].
Even though the world may be turning away from anything that is truth and godly, it is still my responsibility as a Christian to use every opportunity to tell others about Christ. Maybe then, some may begin to truly understand the blessing that came through the birth of Jesus and turn the Happy Holiday into a Merry Christmas.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of faith [Hebrews 12 verse 2].
Kandima Awendila was born in Mozambique and lives and works as an IT Service Desk Engineer on the Gold Coast.
Kandima Awendila's archive of articles may be viewed at
www.pressserviceinternational.org/kandima-awendila.html
Kandima Awendila was born in Mozambique and lives and works as an IT Service Desk Engineer on the Gold Coast.'Kandi Awendila's archive of articles may be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/kandima-awendila.html
