Jesus Kept CHRISTmas Every Day

What Did Jesus Do?

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
Luke 2:52

O.K. it is December 26th, and an awful lot of Christmas Trees have already been kicked to the curb! I suppose it shouldn’t be all that surprising, considering that many of those trees have been drying out in family rooms and living rooms for 5-6 weeks now. I wonder…All right, raise your hand if you have ever bemoaned the commercialization of Christmas, and how retailers have kept advancing the season until the line between Labor and Christmas has become blurred. Come on now, raise your hand (I just raised mine, trust me. You couldn’t see it because my computer is too old to have a webcam.).

I believe I saw quite a few of your hands raised. Hmm. This creates something of a tension for a lot of us, doesn’t it? I mean, here we all are, complaining about Christmas being thrust in our face by merchandisers for a couple of months, while, at the same time, many of us probably heard one or more messages in church recently about keeping Christmas every day throughout the year. Well, rather than take our own counsel, which really shouldn’t be trusted, I believe we ought to take a look at what Jesus did. Don’t you?

The simple truth is, Jesus kept Christmas every day of his life because, well, he was/is Christmas. In short, Jesus went about the business of being himself each and every day of his life. What was the result of Jesus keeping Christmas, of being himself, every day? Luke tells us at the end of the second chapter of his Gospel, “Jesus increased (daily) in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” You know, I believe that’s what we’re supposed to do as Christians, isn’t it? Increase, grow, daily in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. The only way I can imagine that we can so increase is by doing what Jesus did. Not by being ourselves, but, by the Holy Spirit, being our reborn selves in Him.

Another way to put it is that the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. And the main thing is Jesus, or, as I like to put it, “Christ IS All!” There is more than one way to do this, but I’ve been thinking that, somehow, we might keep Jesus both front and center (“center” as in the core, the heart of who we are) in our lives every day if we would seriously keep Christmas every day, just as Jesus did.

So, here’s a proposal for you/me. Let’s all take the “Keep CHRISTmas every day” Pledge! I’m going to create a new facebook group. I know, I know, you’re probably thinking, “Ugh! Not another facebook group. Aren’t there enough of them already?” Well, like churches, as long as there are people who aren’t being reached with the Good News of Jesus Christ, there is room for more places/ways to get the Word out. I see it working out like this. Once the facebook group is created, and I will be doing it shortly after I send out this WDJD, you can look it up and ask to join, or you can ask to join by replying to this email. But, in joining, each of us will pledge to keep CHRISTmas every day. That means every day we wish someone a “Merry CHRISTmas!” Or, we update our status every day with something that keeps CHRISTmas in front of all our facebook families/friend. Or we give someone a gift of love every day, just as the Father gave us the Son for CHRISTmas. What I’m thinking is, we outflank the merchandisers and all who would make Christmas just an excuse for hawking stuff for fully a third of the year and more, by taking CHRISTmas back and living it EVERY day of the year! What would happen if keeping CHRISTmas every day went “viral,” if hundreds, thousands, even millions of people committed to doing in and through the Holy Spirit what Jesus did by being himself, every day?

Guess this all sounds a little crazy. But, hey, it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve made a nutty proposal to honor Jesus and glorify the Father. So, here goes, I know Christmas was yesterday, but I am proclaiming today CHRISTmas, and I want to be the first to wish you a “Merry CHRISTmas!”

Now, to go to facebook and create “Keeping CHRISTmas Every Day.” Hope I see you there soon!

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4