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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 right now, living rooms look much the same: a once-lush tree stands bare, its gifts long unwrapped and scattered across the floor. Wrapping paper — once a carefully displayed adornment — lies in tatters, now collapsed in trash bags alongside ribbons and bows. Meanwhile, the turkeys and hams that anchored yesterday’s feast are reduced to bones, and the cooks and guests are now quietly recovering from a gluttony that could rival Thanksgiving.
In a blink, Christmas comes and goes. One minute we’re surrounded by lights and laughter, and the next we’re thinking about New Year’s. In the world’s calendar, Christmas has a beginning and an end, just like any other day. Decorations must come down, meals must be eaten — and then cleaned up. But the true meaning of Christmas is neither so fleeting nor so superficial. The world treats December 25 as a moment in time, but Christmas — the reality of Christ entering the world — has no beginning and no end. God knew we needed a Savior. Christmas was always the plan, and the invitation for each of us to accept that Savior is not limited to a single day.
With that risen Christ in our hearts, we can carry the joy and love of Christmas into every ordinary day. This idea isn’t merely sentimental — it’s scriptural. We’re called to let Christ dwell richly in us, shaping how we live, think, and relate to others every moment of every day.
It echoes what artists have tried to express in song: pop singer Celine Dion once sang about not saving your heart for Christmas alone — a theme later covered by the Christian group Avalon. And in literature, Charles Dickens — in A Christmas Carol — showed us a Scrooge who discovers that Christmas isn’t confined to a date, but to a way of living. After his transformation, Scrooge embodies generosity and joy, spreading goodwill without limitation. (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 isn’t a decoration on a mantle or a memory of a feast, but a life that reflects Christ’s love every day of the year. So before you pack away your ornaments and take down your lights, make sure the Savior you honored yesterday remains front and center in your heart — today and every day
