Well, the guests have come and gone, the food eaten, presents opened and the celebration of Christ's birth is over. Not exactly, but that DAY is over. We should be celebrating every day of the year the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus who has provided a way for us to have eternal life with Him. Every day should be Christmas, Black Friday and Easter all day long for the Christian. Why? Because there is no other name by which mankind can be saved. While a pastor I preached the death and resurrection of Jesus at Christmas. People were appalled that I wouldn't be preaching the birth of Christ. When the season was over people understood that the birth was only a small part of the story and certainly not the end of the story of our salvation. Nor were any of the big three the end of the story. However, they were THE story should be center in all of our lives every day of the year. Jesus encouraged us to not dwell on yesterday or tomorrow because they were unimportant. Rather he said we should set our eyes on God and make every day all about Jesus.
If Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and if we are to be dead to self and have Jesus living through us, it only makes sense that we too are the same yesterday, today and tomorrow in our love of God. But are we? Do we take Christmas, Black Friday, and Easter and make them one day events surrounded by a few weeks of consumerism? If we do, we miss the point. Maybe you have been missing the point. It's not hard to do when mainstream Christian churches and their people don't take every day and make it about Jesus. The church calendar was destroyed by Jesus with his coming, dying and resurrection so that we could all savor eternal life every day. There is no longer Sabbath. There is no longer the Law. There is no longer life lived in fear if we take to many steps on a holy day. If you don't believe me, believe the Bible where in Matthew we read the Sermon on the Mount as a guide for our daily reading and living.
Yesterday was Sunday, December 25th, Christmas. Today millions of people will go back to their old lives going off to work, daycares, coffee stops and toil that consumes our days. Today many Christians will be back to some worldly ideal of "normal" and not be found celebrating Christ. Today the world goes on as if the event was over. Are you one of those who fit this description? Do you have that history repeated since childhood and practiced in your own family? Perhaps you find yourself putting away the Christmas decorations, presents and left overs to go back to where you were. Today you have the choice to make life shift stages. You have the choice to step off the old stage and onto the new stage. Leaving a lie for the truth. What are you going to do? Remember, it's always your choice.
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