A Celebration beyond the Routine

It can be really cheesy to talk about the “True meaning of Christmas” or ask “What does Christmas mean to you?” I didn’t feel super festive about this Christmas season until I finally took up the initiative to read my book after procrastinating on it this month. Brain Houston helped me remove myself from unenthusiastically buying gifts and laying around the house after reading Live Love Lead. Christmas can easily be considered to just be another holiday next to Thanksgiving and Halloween. Another date on the calendar while you plan for all the other upcoming dates. But Houston drew me back to why this holiday marks our calendars in the first place. “We have a Savior who not only knows what it means to suffer but who willingly gave himself as a sacrifice in our place. He loved us enough to take more than a bullet for us—he took the cross. And he defeated sin and death so that we can have grace, joy and hope.” (Houston 81) This was the day where the King of Kings voluntarily came down from His throne to be among us, knowing that the people he was saving would turn against him. This was the day where the baby that would deliver grace through the ultimate sacrifice, was born. As God sent His son to die for our sins, it held no benefit for him. It was solely for us. And I had allowed myself to be passive about this day. I wasn’t truly appreciating the moves God was making to plan for His children to be accepted into the kingdom of heaven. Houston definitely gave me a huge wake-up call and made me see how I’ve strayed from knowing God’s love and grace. Houston also reminded me that God’s grace was a gift that He gave us, although we were undeserving. The Lord made it be so that His grace isn’t something we have to earn or buy and can be gained by simply asking. (Houston 96) And that in itself is such a beautiful thing.
Through Jesus’ birth on Christmas day, He would bring the gift of grace while bearing the pain and suffering that came with it. A king laid down His only son to deliver his children from sin and death. I think Houston says it perfectly when he states, “Your Father wanted to give you the freedom of a full and vibrant life; he wanted you to experience salvation and life in abundance. So he sent Jesus.” (Houston 99) The “true meaning of Christmas” had made itself known and I shouldn’t allow myself to restrict the celebration of His grace to a season.

How did you spend your Christmas?

Houston, Brian. Live, Love, Lead: Your Best Is Yet to Come! New York: FaithWords, 2015. Print