But I hope that you don't stop there, because while we celebrate the season and remember God's gift, let us not forget what that gift really was. A friend and I were talking the other day about the following line from Talladega Nights:
Ricky Bobby: Dear tiny infant Jesus...
Carley Bobby: Hey, um... you know sweetie, Jesus did grow up. You don't always have to call him baby. It's a bit odd and off puttin' to pray to a baby.
Ricky Bobby: Well look, I like the Christmas Jesus best....
That's the mentality of most people this time of year. We hang ornaments of these cutesy little angels and love hearing the story of a little baby. After all, the only offensive thing a baby does is make a mess in its diaper and the most divisive thing a baby does cause grandparents to fight over who gets to play with it. But let's get real here. The angels in the bible made grown men fall down in fear. Generally speaking the first words out of any angelic being in the bible were "Don't be afraid". Angels are not cute, they are awe inspiring and straight up frightening and the reality of this holiday is that a baby was not the gift we should be remembering.
God's gift to mankind was never a baby, yes Christ came as a baby, but that was not the gift. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us what the gift is. It's salvation!
So in this time in which we remember the coming of our Lord, please don't stop your remembrance there. This is the season in which we are to celebrate God's gift. It's vital that we don't let people stop at baby Jesus, but that they come to know the truth about God's gift that we are celebrating this Christmas day.
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