Merry Christmas!
December . . . the very word conjures thoughts of Christmas: hoping for snow . . . family . . . Christmas lights . . . cookies . . . pine trees . . . shopping for the perfect thoughtful gift for a loved one . . . joy, love, smiles, cheer . . . Christmas carols on repeat . . . Christmas movies, Christmas sweaters, Christmas cards, Christmas books, Christmas stockings . . . candlelight Christmas Eve services . . . caroling . . . quiet snowy nights . . . Advent traditions . . . anticipation . . . the Christmas story, nativity, and wonder of the birth of the Savior. The very term Christmas evokes warmth and goodwill. It’s a time of year when everyone seems to be extra benevolent, when smiles and greetings from strangers are natural, when everyone longs to do something a bit extra-special with and for loved ones.
The Christmas Spirit.
Charity. Kindness. Benevolence. Joy. Generosity. Cheer. Love.
Some might frame it in commercial or materialistic terms. Some are content to merely embrace it. Some prolong it, pushing their celebrations earlier in the year to capture a bit more of the wonder of the season.
Yet what is the true Christmas Spirit? And how ought we as followers of Jesus Christ to approach this in our lives?
As we count down to Christmas Day 2018, we’re going to address these questions.
Of course, we know, to begin with, that the true Christmas Spirit and all the positive characteristics stemming from it come from one particular Baby, laid in a manger wearing swaddling clothes. In some mysterious way, that Baby holds the power to transform the behavior of millions.
Many Christmas carols attempt to describe the impact brought by this Baby that is felt and displayed in the lives of many every December:
Sing we joyous all together! Fa la la la la la la la!
Heedless of the wind and weather, Fa la la la la la la la!
Another carol puts it this way:
There’s a happy feeling nothing in the world can buy
When they pass around the coffee and the pumpkin pie.
It’ll nearly be like a picture print by Currier and Ives.
These wonderful things are the things
We remember all through our lives.
There’s a reason the secular market is flooded with Christmas movies, books, stories, and songs. There’s a reason Christmas traditions are so widespread. Whether one calls it magic, wonder, or a miracle, there’s something about this time of year – something the world continually attempts to put its finger on.
… yet why are these the things we remember throughout our lives? Why do we find such memories and traditions thrilling?
It is because it is the expression of the fellowship of Spirit and life of God through us.
Community . . . oneness . . . fellowship . . . love. These words describe just a bit of kingdom life, the life of the body of Christ, the life God designed us to live. And it’s the Spirit that brings us into that fellowship. It’s the Spirit that expresses God through us in acts of kindness and charity. It’s the Spirit that fills our hearts with warmth and joy, because our God is that joy and security. And it’s the Spirit that causes us to find stability, an anchor, peace, comfort, and hope through a Christmas season that may hold little in itself.
Christmas is about gifts . . . and the gift of that Baby-turned-Man-exalted-as-God Jesus Christ Himself is the Spirit.
Have you ever stopped to think about why? Why would Jesus give us the Spirit, and nothing else?
It’s because the Spirit is the fullness of God. The Spirit is God manifested in our lives. When we have the Spirit, we have everything.
So, among all the gifts, decorations, baking, caroling, and general glories of the seasons – take a few minutes right now to ponder the magnitude of Jesus’s gift to you and your receipt of that gift. How can His Spirit in you best honor Him through this season?
And together with His Spirit, enjoy what He’s given you today during this most wonderful time of the year!
Come back tomorrow as we begin to examine the Fruit of the Spirit with a Christmas twist!
Find the rest of today’s Twelve Days of Christmas party posts here.
Enter the giveaway here.
Thank you for joining the blog party, Erika! 🙂 I’m just now getting around to some of the bloggers’ sites, and I so enjoyed your look into the Christmas spirit.