Merry Christmas

Posted on December 20, 2009 by Carl
Merry Christmas

I have found that Christmas time is one of the easiest times to share the Gospel with people. At the mall, I can point to the decorated tree and ask, “what do you call that?” Or while talking to a worker at the kiosk, I can ask, “would this make a good Christmas present?” It’s easy to go from there to, “do you celebrate Christmas?” “Why do you celebrate Christmas?” “Why do you think Christians celebrate Christmas?” These simple questions lead quickly to the being able to explain that Jesus had to be born so that he could die for the sin of the whole world.

“for the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down
   and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.
They decorate it with silver and gold;
    they fasten it with hammer and nails
   so that it cannot move.
Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,
   and they cannot speak;
 they have to be carried,
   for they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them,
    for they cannot do evil,
   neither is it in them to do good.” (Jeremiah 10:3-5)

These verses from Jeremiah may seem like an odd reference for Christmas. I came across them while I was reading the Bible recently and turned to a commentary for some insight. Please read what J. Vernon McGee wrote in his commentary “Thru the Bible” about these verses:

There are some folk who interpret Jeremiah’s denunciation of idolatry to be a condemnation of the modern Christmas tree. That is utterly preposterous and ridiculous. Jeremiah is not talking about Christmas trees – nobody in his day had a Christmas tree! He is talking to his people about worshiping idols.
“The customs of the people are in vain”- they are empty. Obviously Jeremiah is talking about idolatry. He is ridiculing with bitter irony the idolatry of his day. He reminds them that they go out to the woods, cut down a tree, shape it into an image, deck it with silver and gold, fasten it with nails – and that’s their god! It is like worshiping a scarecrow! Now, my friend, if at Christmas time you fall on your knees before your Christmas tree and worship it, Jeremiah’s warning could have reference to you. But, I don’t know of even an unsaved pagan in the country who worships a Christmas tree. They use it as a decoration, then throw it out with the trash when Christmas is over. Rather than worshiping a Christmas tree, the danger I see is the worship of self at Christmastime – getting everything possible for self.

So, in a few days Christmas will be here. Celebrate the birth of Christ. But, please be sure to do something unselfish too! May I suggest two ways:

First, tell others why Christmas is important. Go out and share the Gospel with them. You’ve still got two days before Christmas. So why not head to the mall with some tracts and share the Gospel with people that are still trying to pick up that last minute gift? Then, even after Christmas, you can still use it as a springboard to the gospel. After Christmas you can hand someone a Christmas tract and say, “Christmas may be passed, but the true gift of Christmas is still available.”

Second, consider prayerfully giving to someone else and even outside of your normal circle of giving.  Please pray about how you could give something to someone else this Christmas. Maybe it mean returning a gift and giving that money to someone in need. Or maybe, it means just giving from your abundance to someone in need. My wife and I and my in-laws adopted a family in need and gave them gifts this Christmas, instead of giving gifts to the adults in the family. There are many families who need food. Maybe you could do a canned food drive and give them the food (and share the Gospel door to door as you go). Overseas the needs are great as well. My wife and I have supported Mission India and Gospel for Asia which both have wonderful programs for supporting people in need. Pray about sending a Christmas gift there. For example for $11 you can give chicks through Gospel for Asia’s Christmas Catalog. The chick’s will provide food, nourishment and income for needy families in Asia.

Merry Christmas!
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