Do we ever stop and think about the words in Christmas songs? Bring us some figgy pudding? Please skip the figs and bring me some apple pie with ice cream. Do you really want a hippopotamus for Christmas? Who’s going to clean up after him? Dominic the donkey!? and don’t even get me started on the superficial commercialism song that is called “Santa Baby”. What is this world coming to with these songs? It seems to get more and more ridiculous as time goes on. Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas songs as much as the next guy but c’mon. Based upon these aforementioned songs, is this what Christmas is all about? Do we ever take time to stop and consider these songs and wonder what is Christmas all about? Buried in all the mumbo-jumbo surfacey songs, there might actually a glimmer of hope, the hope of what Christmas is all about.
Allow me to point you to a real Christmas song called, “For unto us a child is born”. Sure it may not have the modern “pop” feel to it but lets contemplate the words for a moment straight from the Bible and our scripture verse for this devotional.
Isaiah 9:7- “Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no
end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and
establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even
forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”
As we look at our world today, we realize that part of the promise of Isaiah 9:6–7 has not yet been fulfilled. The Son has been given. The Child has been born. But He has not yet taken the government upon His shoulders. With all the junk going on in the government today and with the craziness of the last presidential race finally coming to a close, no matter the side of the political aisle you fall on, thank God that someday Jesus will come back and take the government upon His shoulders and we no longer would have to be under the burden of fallen man. We do not yet have peace with judgment and justice. But the good news is that there will come a day when Christ will return. He will establish His kingdom on this earth. And it will be the righteous rule of God himself. Before Jesus could take the government upon His shoulder, He had to take
the cross upon His shoulder. Christ came to this earth.
God came near to you so you can come near to Him—to give our lives purpose and meaning, to forgive us of our sins, and to give us the hope of heaven beyond the grave. Christmas is not about tinsel or shopping or presents or songs. Christmas is not about the gifts under the tree. Rather, Christmas is about the gift that was given on the tree when Christ died there for our sins and gave us the gift of eternal life. The story of Charlie Brown had it right, THAT is what Christmas is all about. So next time you’re listening to Christmas songs, think to yourself about the words being said. Think about the message it’s portraying. Can you really call it a “Christmas” song? Take time this holiday season to stop and ponder the true meaning of christmas and why we celebrate this holiday. Thank you Jesus for the greatest gift that has ever been given.
On behalf of the BWOB group and myself, I wish you and your family a happy holiday season and a very Merry Christmas. Finally, to all the emergency responders working in their communities on Christmas, we thank you for your commitment and service, and as always, stay safe.
Your brother,
Dave