The reason we celebrate Christmas

I am sitting here at my desk this morning feeling stressed. I can feel the holiday “rush” closing in on me, and it is only the beginning of December.

As a music teacher, I have two big Christmas concerts during the first two weeks of December. As a minister, I have to plan for Advent with Christmas Eve service and Christmas Day back to back this year.

On top of that, there is Christmas decorating, cooking, and gift-buying. That doesn’t even include all the parties and bazaars that occur. The pressure is on!

But that isn’t what the holiday is supposed to be about. It is supposed to be the celebration of Jesus Christ coming to earth as a baby.

It is the remembrance of when our God took on human form and came into the world to experience what it was like to be human and to save us from our sins.

The only gifts that were given were gold, frankincense and myrrh. They were given to honor the Savior and to prepare him for what he was to go through for our sakes.

Gold was a precious metal with financial value. Mary and Joseph would need money to escape Herod when he was trying to have Jesus killed.

Frankincense was a fragrant oil which represented holiness and righteousness and was burnt as an offering. Jesus was our best and final offering for our sins. He died to save us.

Myrrh was a fragrant spice used in embalming. It represented Jesus’ death on the cross and the beginning of our salvation.

The gifts of the wise men had meaning and purpose, just as the Christmas season should have meaning and purpose today.

It shouldn’t be a time when we try to cram a multitude of activities into just 25 days. It should be a celebration of worship to God because He sent His son to put the world back on the right track.

I would like to encourage you to take some time this year and think about the reason we celebrate Christmas.

Take each day and celebrate Jesus Christ for being our Lord and Savior.

I invite you to come and celebrate with the Royal City Methodists this Christmas Eve. We are having service at 3:30 p.m.

You can come to service and still have family time in the evening. Join us as we find the true meaning of Christmas.