Read
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Colossians 3:16
Reflect
All over the world, this scene is playing out in countless households. A Christmas tree, whose base was once overflowing with brightly wrapped presents, now sits vacant, its former residents now strewn throughout the house. The wrapping paper, which was carefully displayed with ribbon and bows, is now in tatters, and resides with the ribbons and bows in overstuffed trashbags.
Meanwhile, turkeys and hams – the stars of a lovingly prepared Christmas feast – have been reduced to carcasses and bones. Those who feasted on the meats – along with dressing, potatoes both mashed and sweet, cranberry sauce and a myriad of casseroles – are just now recovering from a gluttony only rivaled by Thanksgiving Day. Christmas has come and gone, and the world now focuses on the next big thing – New Year’s Day. Before the first fleck of dust has a chance to settle on the still unused Christmas presents, the season is just as easily out of the door as the empty boxes and the Christmas tree.
As a day, Christmas has to have a beginning and an end, just like any other day. The trees and lights that went up have to come down (except for a few, who tend to keep them up until Easter). But the whole meaning of Christmas is something that has no beginning and no end, in spite of how the world treats it. God always knew we would need a Savior, and that the Savior would need to live and die as one of us. Christmas Day was always the plan, as is the need for each person to accept the Savior personally. With that risen Christ in our hearts, it’s possible to live each day in the love and joy that Christmas brings. It’s a theme that pop diva Celine Dion hit upon with the song, “Don’t Save It All for Christmas Day,” which was later covered by the Christian group Avalon.
It’s really not much different from what Charles Dickens wrote about in “A Christmas Carol.” In a sense, Ebeneezer Scrooge is dead in his sins and is bound to wear them in misery throughout eternity. With a little prodding from a few spirits, Scrooge finds a new path and pledges to live every day with the spirit of Christmas in his heart. Even better, he uses that newfound Christmas love to continually bless those around him and to spread joy into their lives. 
(The best expression I’ve seen of this is the closing speech from the Bill Murray movie, “Scrooged.” It’s a big rough around the edges, but Bill’s passion in this speech is something that should be embraced by every Christian.)
As Christians, our best witness to others is simply to carry the spirit of Christmas with us each day throughout the year. While most keep the spirit of Christmas alive for a few weeks (at most), Christians should be a living testimony that Christ’s love and joy are available any and every day of the year. So today, before you take down your ornaments and put away your lights, make sure that the Savior who we honored yesterday has his love and joy front and center today – and every day.
Reflection copyright © 2019 Doug DeBolt.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
