By Tom Harcus
Aurora, Ill.
Most will miss Christmas this year!
As crazy as it might sound, most will miss Christmas. Some time ago I read an article that published the responses from its readers regarding the true meaning of Christmas. Readers offered their definitive and very wide range of thoughts. It included everything from family sentiments, care for their fellow man, to an occasion for unbridled pleasure. There was no mention of Jesus and His influence on mankind. My proposition is they missed it! Although many look forward to Christmas 2021 with high hopes, it will be missed by most! The question for you, the reader is, will you miss Christmas this year?
If you do miss it, you are in the company of the majority going back to our very first Christmas when Jesus was born. How? And why? Most importantly for us today and specifically, for you the reader, it is for the same reasons that multitudes will miss Christmas this year! Many did and will miss Christmas due to busyness, routine of life, or self-centeredness.
• The first reason many of us miss Christmas is busyness or the busy pace of life. The inn-keeper did not comprehend and was seemingly indifferent to the birth of Jesus. The Bible contains that Mary gave birth to Jesus in manger because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2:7) As the inn keeper missed the miracle at his doorstep because of his busyness, likewise, many today miss Christmas because of busyness. The miracle of the birth of Jesus, whose name means “God saves”, was happening right under their noses. Yet, because of the pace and busyness of life that first Christmas, they missed the absolute wonder of the birth of the Savior. (John 1:1-14).
• The second reason many of us did miss and will miss Christmas this year is their routine of life, the normality that preoccupies their 24 hours. These are our routines of normal life that prohibit recognition of the specialty of the moment. Most of us are creatures of habit. Life has a tendency to become routine. The first Christmas, the townspeople missed Jesus’ birth because they were dulled by the normality of life. They were caught up in their routines. There is no indication in the Bible that those living in Bethlehem at that time of Jesus’ birth recognized the miracle of the Creator God being born a baby in their hometown. They missed the miracle of the virgin birth of the one who would become the Savior of humanity. Imagine, God born in one of their mangers!
• Lastly, the reason many of us missed and will miss Christmas this year is self-centeredness. The religious leaders of the day were blinded by their own pride and self-centeredness. The vast majority of the religious leaders of the day missed the first Christmas, because they were consumed with the outward shell of religiosity and prominence that lacked the inward substance of genuine, joyful faith and devotion. Their self-righteousness blinded them to their own true need for a savior who could cleanse them of their own sins. Is it any different today?
I can identify with each of these reasons for why I missed my first 18 Christmases. Yet, now, looking back over my life as a student, partier, employee in corporate America, business owner, college coach, ultra-distant athlete, husband, father, radio host, doctorate, speaker, and current pastor of a new church, Crossway Chapel Aurora, I am eternally grateful that God did not leave me there.
I have come to grasp God’s amazing love that we celebrate at Christmas. Join me and Do not miss Christmas another year!