'Twas the Day After Christmas

'Twas the day after Christmas
And all through the store
There were clothes put on clearance
From ceiling to floor.
At home in the living room
Where worn wrapping paper was laying
Parents uncovered kids' gifts
While they were outside playing.
Around the decorated tree
Lay boxes for lights
To be stacked in the closet
Tucked away out of sight.
We'll do it all again next year
Perhaps beginning in November
But starting now until then
His birth we'll barely remember.

Christmas has become a celebration of holiday meals, gift giving, and family photos. And we find ourselves year after year trying to create a more pleasurable experience with more tinsel and lights and family games and tacky sweaters.

Is it possible that we have found ourselves going from one scene to another hoping that our pleasures will be outdone? One relationship to the next? One job to the next? One city to the next? One social circle to the next? All to be satisfied! But only for a moment!

Not only have we forfeited many opportunities to actually enjoy life because it was simply ordinary but in many instances we as Christians have forfeited moments to find real purpose and meaning because we've reduced our lives to those momentary pleasures that left us reeling for something more.

It's sad to think that we have reduced Christmas to a holiday garnering social media hype and advertising of various brands. The birth of Christ was never meant to be neatly packaged by candlelight services, Christmas carols, or a nativity scene on our coffee tables. His birth was the catalyst for transformation. While the star pointed some to His birth, His birth pointed us to true life.

So, before we pack up all our decorations maybe we can take a moment to reflect on that first Christmas morning; the day of His birth. To remember that the first Christmas wasn't all glitter and glam. It was grimy! It was certainly not what any of us would have imagined.

Christianity isn't all for putting on smiles and attending mass or a candlelight service. It's not Santa Claus or family photos. It's not receiving gifts or even giving them away. Christianity is seeing that Christmas accommodated His arrival that led to the climactic scene of His death and resurrection.

You and me? Well, it requires a response. A response that we will declare with our lives for the next 365 days. We either believe He came or He didn't. And if He came and lived and died the way it's told, we cannot simply celebrate with the exchanging of gifts. We must exchange our life for His!