Thursday, December 23, 2010

The Deeper Meaning of Christmas

Photo Credit: tommaync
The late Theodor Geisel, also known as "Dr. Seuss", shared some thoughts on the deeper meaning of Christmas in his children's classic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas:
"And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."
Dr. Seuss was right in saying that there is more to Christmas.  The meaning of Christmas is not found in shopping or food or Santa or trees. As nice and as good as these things may be, the heart of Christmas is found in an obscure manger over two millenia ago where the God of the universe became a baby.

Christmas is when eternity entered into time. Christmas is the reality of Immanuel, that God is here among us.  Christmas is the open door to hope that our sin can be forgiven.  Christmas is selfless love.  Christmas is knowing that we have a Savior that sympathizes with humanity.  Christmas is the faith that wrongs will be righted and justice will be realized.  Christmas is "the celebration of Christ" (the literal meaning of Christmas).  Christmas is Jesus.

No comments: