I Wish You Christmas Merriness, With Jesus

by Kevin Burton

    Well, the big day has come, and I wish you a Merry Christmas!

   This covers today and all Christmases. Even after I die, if you’re still chugging along and remember me, remember that old Kev wished you a Merry Christmas.

   But on this Christmas Day I have a bigger wish for you. I am wishing you a Christmas-like merriness that follows you all up and down the calendar.

   I hear people good-naturedly talking about playing Christmas music in November. Some say it’s cool, some recoil.  I never hear anybody talking about playing Christmas music after Christmas. Doesn’t that go over with a big thud, hearing anything about jingle bells or reindeer on Dec. 26? I believe we all agree that’s a no-no.

   So I am wishing you a merriness with more shelf life than ho-ho-ho, more shelf life than Christmas music. One that lasts, that you can luxuriate in on Dec. 25, March 9, Sept. 22, whenever.

   The big box stores, the credit card companies, pretty much everybody has a commercial with a wide-eyed child getting the first look at that new toy of the moment. 

   Or maybe it’s a girlfriend opening that box. You know the one. The jewelry sparkles, her eyes sparkle (somebody’s cash register sparkles), everything is shiny and good.  They’re trying to capture what they call Christmas.

   There is a town called North Pole, Alaska. In that town the biggest tourist attraction is something called Santa Claus House. Your children can get a personalized letter from Santa there and you can visit them year round, not only on Christmas.

   It’s a place where they try to make every day Christmas, capturing that feeling like this message from their website.:

   “Christmas Eve. The sharp, pungent scent of pine. The reflection of twinkling, colored lights in every window and mirror. The scent of gingerbread. Stockings carefully hung. Milk and cookies left for Santa. The joyful anticipation of unknown treasures when morning finally arrived. The temptation to stay up into the wee hours of the night, to catch a glimpse of Santa’s cherry red coat or team of magical reindeer.”

   Have you been there? If so, answer this: does this glittery feeling last? 

   Also, for you who have real Christmas trees; is the smell of pine needles the only thing that is sharp?

    I’m not trying to be a downer here. I’m trying to swing us all around to the reason we have a Christmas day and the reason we can have a merriness, a true joy, that transcends any one day on the calendar. 

   And did you know that yes indeed, there is someone who knows when you are sleeping, knows when you’re awake and knows when you’ve been bad or good?

   Christmas begins with Christ, the Son of God, who became a man to save us. If Christ is not in your Christmas, you have missed the point, or misappropriated the point.

   The story of the birth of Christ, which some call the Christmas story, is written in the book of Luke, chapter two.  Luke and the other three gospels, Matthew, Mark and John, tell the story of the earthly ministry of Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us.

   These four gospels tell the story of how Jesus died on a Roman cross as a sacrifice to pay for the sins of the whole world.

   God raised Jesus from the dead to seal the victory that you and I so desperately needed. Now, through faith in Jesus we can have our sins forgiven and spend eternity with Him in Heaven, instead of eternal punishment in hell.

   After the book of John comes the book of Acts, written by the same author who wrote the book of Luke. This is the story of how the disciples of Jesus, after the resurrection, under God’s instruction, in His power and under the direction of the Holy Spirit, began to spread God’s invitation, the invitation to eternal life in Heaven with God, through faith in Jesus Christ.

   That invitation is there, waiting for you today.

   If you got a pair of jeans that you needed for Christmas today, or a skillet, or a car, that’s great. Now a car is certainly more than a bauble. But imagine the treasures available to those who belong to the God who loved you enough to die on a cross for you. 

       ^“But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9 NKJV).

   How tragic if you have thrown away with the wrapping paper, a chance to take a fresh look at salvation through Jesus Christ.

   I wish you a merry Christmas. I wish you Christmas merriness.