So this is Christmas...

...let's hope it's a good one

Well, it's that time of year again and I'd like to say have a very Merry Christmas to you all. We should all set aside our petty squabbles and irritations for a couple of days - relax and enjoy family, friends and food. (Drinks are OK too)

As we age, and those of us over 40 know of what I speak, Christmas is always just around the corner. When we were little kids it just couldn't get here soon enough. My 12-year old has been saying "I can't wait for Christmas" multiple times and hour for 3 weeks straight. For me, it's already soon enough. The old saying "time flies when you're having fun" should really be changed to "time flies when you get old". The time difference between that day in early April when you know the snow and cold are gone for good and the day in November when you know the cold and snow are here to stay is increasingly compressed. Bam, zoom, zip - it's Christmas time again.

I have been slightly aware of the annual assault on Christmas within the mass culture, frankly it bores me to no end - both sides of it. Part of me does get riled by the constant debassing of the traditional aspects of Christmas. Yet, another part of me knows that what has become tradition is so far removed from the significance of the holiday that we don't have a "biblical" leg to stand on. Should we Christians really get all bent out of shape that Macy's or [insert name of store here] won't allow Merry Christmas to be dispalyed in favor of some generic happy holidays signage? If we succumb to our outrage and boycott these stores we would probably do more harm than good. Presumably many Christmas loving Christians work at these stores and could possibly lose their jobs if the business is crippled. On the other hand we have watched the media and Hollywood in particular do everything in their power to reflect Christians, evengelicals and catholics alike, in the worst possible light. All I have to say is we (Christians) do a good enough job of it ourselves that we don't need pop culture helping us out so much.

I guess we can let popular culture pretend that this society is evolving into a loving, compassionate and caring secular utopia. We know in our hearts where these attributes stem from. Most of the people I know and associate with are the salt of the earth. They are kind and helpful in so many ways that you start to wonder who are all these bad people you hear about. Yet, we are all fallen men on this earth. We are all sinners. We are imperfect, all of us. Our human nature tells us to be selfish and self important and our Godly nature compells us to be helpful and loving to those in need. This is the eternal struggle the rages in all of us. Amazingly, for most of us our Godly nature wins out much of the time. Even those among us who profess no particular Christian affiliation have been enlightened by the holy spirit whether they would ever admit it or not. All Jesus Christ wanted for us is to find our way to God and he offered us a portal. I, for one, accept his guidance directly and willingly, many others will get caught up in the current. It's all good.

Happy Birthday Jesus and God bless us all!