|
How
Would Jesus Like For Us To Celebrate His Birthday? The bible does not say anything about celebrating
birthdays such as Christ’s birth, which has developed into what is now
known as Christmas. I believe that since it is a celebration of our
Saviors birthday, then I think we should ask Him how he would like for
us to celebrate it. I don’t believe that Jesus would much care for
the giving and receiving of gifts among people a very productive way to
celebrate His birthday. Jesus is actually very easy to please. All Jesus
asks of us is that we come and walk with Him, whether it is His birthday
or not. The materialistic aspect of buying gifts and giving
them to people that don’t need them or care about them is very
unproductive. Besides, if someone needs something, why wait for
Christmas to give it to him or her. Why not be a giver all throughout
the year to those who are in need? Since Christmas is supposed to be a time of giving
then it is easy to appreciate the blessings of giving by showing others
how much they mean to you in your life. That gift wrapped gold necklace
and that HD Television with the big red bow around it are all great
gifts to give and receive but the true spirit of Christmas is NOT with
those things and never will be. Ask yourself, would Jesus like for us to waste our
money on stuff that most people don’t need in the first place? So in
that respect, if we really want to buy presents for people for
Christ’s birthday then we should use that money on things that some
people can really use. Jesus does not want for anyone to use up the last of their
earnings on buying presents for people. How stressful can that be? I’m not sure about the decorating of a tree with
lights, stencil, and little trinkets very beneficial for the proper
teachings of our Savior’s birth, but it does look pretty when well
decorated. But the purpose of doing it has got me intrigued. The bible
does not say a word about decorating a pine tree for Christ’s birth.
I’m sure that through the years it has developed into a purpose of
some sort, though. But remember that having a tree indoors with
strings of lights on it is very dangerous and has caused many needless
deaths from house fires. Keep your tree well watered so it does not dry
out. I don’t think that Jesus would care too much
about people telling their kids some tale about a bearded fat old man
who comes barreling out of a chimney shaft very productive teaching. It
can actually be detrimental to their little psyches being told if they
are naughty they won’t get any presents. It teaches children about how
to love by placing conditions on that love, which is actually contrary
to the teachings of Jesus Christ. So I’m not sure what that is all
about. And what about those flashy lawn ornaments? What do
these toy statues represent? On one side of a decorated lit house is a
manger with the baby Jesus and the Kings, and on the other side of the
lawn is santa clause and his reindeer. What kind of mixed message are we
really telling our children? How is that an example of doing something
productive for Jesus on His birthday? Christmas is one of those times of year where
people like to “feel” in the Christmas spirit, but when you hear
someone say “Christmas spirit” what spirit are they really
“feeling”? What message
are Christ Ones telling the world when they become stressed out from
gift buying and shopping, or when they use their very last dime to buy
someone an expensive gift they really do not need? Maxing out our credit
cards to buy gifts and shopping until we drop is not contributing to
anyone’s birthday, let alone the Savior of the world. Yes, Jesus is very easy to please, all he asks is
that we keep Him within our heart and mind throughout the whole year,
not just on His assumed birth-day.
Can’t we be materialistic gift givers anytime of the year? Yes,
we can. We don’t have to wait for our Savior’s birth to give gifts
to people, if that is what you like to do. All I’m saying is this year, why don’t we try and be more like Jesus by walking beside Him. We can still have a pretty Christmas tree and we can still have wrapped gifts under the tree for the children to open but I also believe we need to get a little bit more creative with our gift giving and find ways to actually let people see Jesus within you so they may want to walk with Jesus too. |