Christmas is not for Christians by John Enslow.

I know this is a shocking statement but let me expound on my thoughts.  As a quick background, I typically don’t look forward to the holidays.  I was an exuberant only child among a house full of adults. I remember being put into a room with my newly opened toys to play alone as the rest of my family celebrated beyond the door. I felt the holidays were more an endurance of me than a joy for my family. At least that was my impression of the season.  This is not a tale of woe; it is just my perception.  And in my family’s defense, it may not even be all the truth. So on to the meat of this article.

Christmas is a holiday for unbelievers.  As an indwelt believer in Christ I experience Jesus daily.  My life celebrates Him regularly as He reveals Himself to me moment by moment.  So you say, “How can I say that celebrating His birth is not for me?”  Quite simply, the focus during His birth is the same as it is today.  It’s a day for Christ to make His presence known to those who are open to see and receive Him.  The day of Christ’s birth was presented to wise men from afar and shepherds in the field.  Those open to receive the gift of Him who had been promised.

During the Christmas season as I walk through life I am to be the manger, a vessel upholding the King of Glory.  This day is not for me any more than it was for the original manger.  My life is a celebration of Christ; I don’t need a single day of awareness but the world does.  Many boycott Christmas as pagan.  I feel they miss the point.  This day isn’t about them!  This day is for them to be a vessel to present the King of Glory in all His humility.   It is to take His life into situations for the receptive and openhearted.  This is a day when possibly your unsaved friends and family gathers about focusing however unknowingly on Jesus and you are given the opportunity to simply rest as a vessel of Christ’s Life.

If you have Christ inside of you, you don’t need a birthday.  Everyday is His birthday as He presents His life through you.  This day is not for you to defend your rights against what you perceive to be INJUSTICE.  This day is for you to display Him. This day is to present Him in all stillness, with all satisfaction.

So as I enter a new Christmas, I am not going to focus on what I am to receive but what is to be given out of me. It is tremendously freeing. 

Originally posted at GetAlongWithGod.com  A blog about discovering a God worth knowing.