Christ IS Christmas!

In our household, Christmastime meant getting out the “Christmas albums” to be played while cookies were being made and baked; the house decorated, inside and out; and the Christmas tree trimmed and lighted. With Bing Crosby, Perry Como, and Andy Williams crooning out various holiday songs, one in particular called “Christmas Present” would cause us to stop and think about the true meaning of the season:
Christmas present, Christmas tree,
Children’s eyes are wide to see,
Santa’s presents ‘neath the tree,
All they’d asked for on his knee.
Christmas present, Christmas past,
From the presents, which one’s last?
Christmas future sure to be,
Looking underneath the tree.
Then would come the good part:
For the Present, look high, not low,
Christmas was a Gift itself many years ago.
Christmas Present at the start,
Was a Gift from Someone’s heart.
Christ is Christmas! That day is His.
That’s what Christmas Present is!
Ok, it’s not theologically meaty, but it was different from so many of the others. The first part pointed out the world’s view of what Christmas is all about: presents! Ask any child (and plenty of grown-ups, too), “What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word, ‘Christmas’?” and you’ll get an enthusiastic shout: Presents! And who among us doesn’t like presents? And so the world says that Christmas is all about Santa, family gatherings, and, oh yes… presents!
The last part of the song, though, would cut through the frivolity of the season and, in its own simplicity, bring it home to what the true meaning of Christmas is really all about! And guess what? It is about presents—not earthly ones, of course, but divine presents!
The first present God gave mankind was the gift of life, both physical and spiritual, along with a Garden, filled with perfection to be enjoyed for eternity. But the Garden came with one restriction: Do not eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Sadly, Adam and Eve failed to honor that restriction, and Adam’s disobedience brought sin, death, and eternal punishment not only to them, but to every generation that would follow.
Left to ourselves, we are all lost and condemned to hell because of our sins. But God, in His amazing grace, offered another gift—the gift of a Savior!
The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem’s stable was the fulfillment of God’s promise made “many years ago” in Eden’s Garden, where He promised to send a Messiah, a Savior who, through His perfect life, innocent death, and glorious resurrection, would defeat the unholy three: sin, death, and the devil himself. And now, to all who believe in Jesus are given the gifts of forgiveness, new life, and life that lasts forever in God’s heaven.
Christ IS Christmas! He was the first Christmas gift from God’s heart to all mankind so that all who believe in His Son Jesus will not perish, but receive the gifts of forgiveness and life—life now and life forever! God’s own Christmas present to all mankind! That’s what makes Christmas truly “Merry.”
Rodney Flohr is pastor of King of Grace Lutheran Church in Golden Valley, Minnesota.