It’s that time of year again, can you believe it? Perhaps you feel the pressure of busting out the tangled lights, putting up the Christmas tree, making cookie platters, and checking off that frantic list of all the Christmas shopping you feel obligated to do. Before you know it, it’s December 26th and it all felt like a grasping of the wind.
Although some may think Christmas is how the Hallmark movies portray, that is the furthest thing from the truth. So much hype gets put into this season, and to be honest, for what? More clutter, credit card debt, and returns to the store?
I know what some of you may be thinking: “Ashley, you kind of sound like the Grinch.” Maybe I do, just stick with me.
Do we honestly stop, pause, and breathe in the true meaning of Christmas? Do we even know what it is? Some of us may, with a twinkle in our eye; others may not, with curiosity on our chest; and for a few of us, Christmas may be all too familiar and we need a fresh, crisp breeze of what this time is truly all about.
“For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)
Savior. Think about that word. What does it mean? Savior means you are saved from something, but what is this something, and who even is this Christ?
Let’s start with Christ. This verse and word are indeed talking about Jesus. Fun little fact—Christ is not Jesus’s last name! Christ means chosen or anointed one. Therefore, Jesus Christ is the Son of God who is the chosen one to save us! But save us from what?
Jesus saves from hopelessness. Standards of the world. Perfection. Bondage. Turmoil. Dread. He can help save us from the bottle in the hand, the joint in the midst of the fingers, the pictures on the screen, and the despair that wants to take our lives. He saves us from guilt, shame, and that sweet self-critic we can’t seem to shake.
Some of you have been in the church your whole life and you can relate to all of the above; no shame, my beloveds. Some of you may have never stepped into that four-wall building and experienced the things previously listed; no guilt there either. Jesus saves nonetheless.
Jesus loves you. Even in the mess. I promise you.
I have been a follower of Jesus for a good twenty years now, and Jesus continues to save me from regrets of the past, trauma that wants to resurface, self-harm that wishes to penetrate, and depression that hungers to overtake.
I have days when my chest is weighed down with the heaviest of bricks, my heart beats as fast as a hummingbird’s wings, and fear wants to spiral me down to despair. But guess what? Jesus rushes in. Jesus consoles me and settles my heart by the Word of God and speaks to me with words and tone that represent the fruit of the Spirit. Before I know it, the darkness has fled, he has saved me from self-destruction of all sorts, and I am back on my feet running the race.
Commercial break: For those who do not know, the Word of God is the Bible, and the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Jesus also saves us from sin, which we all are so guilty of, including me. Pride. Control. Jealousy. Anger. Comparing. Offense. Those are just a few of the sins I have been washed clean from (and some of them I am still working through), thanks to Jesus.
He will meet you, too, in the middle of the rage, in the mix of the fix, the crippling anxiety, the sailor’s mouth, the emptiness, and that bed of yours that is drenched with tears. He can save and forgive you.
Consider this Christmas (and all the others) that it is not about the presents, food, peppermint mochas, Santa, or reindeer. It’s about the Savior, Jesus, and how He was born, to then die for sin, to soon after be resurrected, all for you.
Jesus does not need you polished or perfected. He does not work that way. He just needs you to cry out to Him, share with Him the mess-ups (aka, confess your sins), accept what He has done for you (died on the cross and rose from the grave), and then talk to Him and never stop. As you confess and believe these things, you enter into the Lord’s Fatherhood and become His child.
Perhaps you have been going to church for some time now, but for whatever reason, Jesus has become a little too familiar or has been put on the shelf next to the elf. Bring Jesus down, draw near to Him, and start that dialogue again. For the unchurched, truth remains, talk to Jesus and get to know Him. It is all about a personal relationship, my friends.
The majestic snow will be on its way (perhaps it has already come as you read this), and as you gaze upon the purest of flakes, know that is how Jesus looks upon all of His children. For a daughter or son of the King, He does not see the crimson-red sin that mirrors the color of Santa’s sack, but rather He gazes upon you with starlit eyes and sees you as sweet and tender as a white woolly lamb.
Therefore, rejoice in that, for Jesus is our Savior who saves from hopelessness of all kinds and sin, which is the true meaning of Christmas. While you are at it, might as well go make a few Christmas cookies, partnered with some hot cocoa and even marshmallows. I can’t come across as a complete “bah humbug” now, can I? I might even string a couple lights too!
Verses that inspired the article: Ecclesiastes 1:14, Galatians 5:22–23, 1 John 1:9, Romans 10:9–10, Romans 8:15, Hebrews 10:22, Isaiah 1:8, and Nehemiah 8:10.
