With Christmas upon us it can be hard to find “the reason for the season.” Colorful lights and decorations adorn homes and businesses. Christmas trees are everywhere. Looking at the displays, the reason could be snowmen, cartoon characters, or may have something to do with Santa, elves and reindeer.
Stores compete for your last dollar and the last bit of your credit card limit. Many go beyond that, promising to make dreams come true and no payments until next year. Giving to the less fortunate is also part of the season and makes us feel good. It all looks so inviting, so could giving be “the reason for the season?”
Another marketing angle pushes the idea of love. If you love someone enough, you will buy them a diamond, or a new car. A more subtle approach suggests you must get together with your loved ones for a big meal, a big celebration, or for a dream vacation. That would show you really love them. Perhaps this love thing is “the reason for the season?”
A few people still proclaim, “Jesus is the reason for the season.” They celebrate the birth of Jesus in different ways, but the most visible are scenes of a glowing baby, in a manger, inside a stable, with a bright star overhead. The Son of God leaving Heaven to be born in a humble place is definitely worth celebrating, but is that “the reason for the season?”
I think the “reason for the season” is a result of the greatest gift and the greatest love and should be celebrated. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NIV). We should be celebrating GOD’s great love for you. You needed a Savior and GOD loved you enough to send His Son to die for your sins. That means you are “the reason for the season!”
Wayne Lance – That’s Good News to Share!