What is the purpose of Christmas? This weekend I get to unpack that topic for Jr High and High School students at CCV, and to be honest I am more than excited at this point.  It really is an easy question to answer…right? I mean you hear “Jesus is the Reason for the Season,” and “Celebrate Jesus not the presents.”  Each year churches all over the world (even though I am really only familiar with churches in America ) spend the weeks leading up to Christmas reminding those in attendance not to forget Christ in the busyness, in the shopping sprees, in the decorating and baking and wrapping and yelling.  But is that really what Christmas should be about?

If that is the case.  If this is indeed what Churches want out of Christmas then we are doing nothing but having glorified birthday parties worldwide.  Think about it. We are celebrating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth in grandeur for sure.  It is the holiday that most businesses BANK on to make bank and get them in the black for the ENTIRE YEAR OF SALES.  Even while the economy is in its worst state in most of our lifetimes, billions…yes billions will be spent on celebrating “the birth of Christ.” I could go on, but this is not my point and this is definitely not the purpose.

I believe we need to go a step forward in celebrating Christmas and the birth of Christ and ask this: “why was Christ born?”  The one word that sums it up, as cliche or simple as it might be, is LOVE.  

Don’t just read over this and think to yourself “I memorized this in 4th grade” because I do it too. But…This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. (john 3:16-18 in the message)

We were missing something. Humanity was dying. Our souls were in darkness and we were wandering aimlessly. The creator of the world saw this and it was breaking his heart.  So, out of love, He did something.  A baby was born, a much anticipated birth, and that baby grew to be a man.  Everyone that man came across had their lives changed because they were loved.  He did things that helped many people see who God was and that God was right there out of  love. It didn’t stop at that. His death and resurrection had eternal implications.

We have to stop celebrating a birthday and celebrate the beginning of a life that changed everything.  Out of THAT celebration we will love others just like Christ did and not even have to try or learn.

The purpose of Christmas: Simply love others because we are loved.