Christmas, it's that time of year when families get together, friends realise they really do love one another and suddenly that person you couldn't stand in the office two weeks ago isn't that bad after all. Christmas is a wonderful time of year for most people living in Britain regardless, very often, of ethnicity or religion, gender or age.
But the carefree Christmas of the past, Christmas as a given, has come to face a rather unexpected challenge in recent years. The secularist campaign is merciless and its goal is clear: to obliterate Christ from Christmas. Just last month the Royal Mail released its Christmas stamp collection which was noticeably lacking a Christian theme. Meanwhile, a number of local councils and shops are putting up their lights and decorations to celebrate the dull, obscure, meaningless and ultimately pointless winterval.
As the secularist movement continues its drive to eradicate Christ from Christmas Christians have to take a fresh look at why this is happening and what responsibility we have to take for this development. As regretful as this development is, it shows no sign of receding. So what can Christians do to restore Christmas to its rightful owner - Christ?
Firstly, as Christians we need to look at the way in which we are celebrating Christmas. Are we doing enough to reveal that a Christmas without Christ is so utterly unfulfilling in comparison to a Christmas spent with Christ? Is it clear to non-believers that Christ makes a difference? Has Christmas just become about Santa, a nice tree, some presents and a party to us as well? Is the development of Winterval not an honest reflection of what Christmas has already become - and what we have allowed it to become?
Or if not, does it remain the case that non-believers at least perceive our Christmas as nothing more out of the ordinary than this?
Apostle Paul said, 'Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!' But preaching is not the responsibility only of the one standing behind the pulpit. Preaching is something that any Christian can do - and without words too - as they live out the Word in their lives.
Our testimony is so important to the way those outside the faith perceive us. We need to use our mouths to testify how great this time of year is not because we are seeing family whom we haven't seen for a long time or because we are getting a few days extra holiday from work. Rather our words need to express a deeper joy that comes from celebrating the fact that God sent Christ as the light to save us from the darkness of this world, without which light we would be utterly lost.
