Christmas has got to be one of the most awaited holidays of the year worldwide. It's so much anticipated that by the time Dec. 26 comes, everyone starts another fresh 364-day countdown to next year's Christmas festivities.
So what happens now that Christmas is over? For many, the celebrations have stopped and the festivities ended.
However, if we really come to think about the true meaning of Christmas, it's a celebration that doesn't have to end when Dec. 25 comes to a close.
I'm thankful that when I woke up on December 26th, the sun shone just as much as it did on Christmas Day. I was just as alive as I was on Christmas Day, and the people that I spent Christmas with are still here today.
Christmas doesn't have to be any different than any other day. Sometimes it may feel different because the decorations go down, the sales come to a close, the dining table is no longer as full and the fireplaces as warm.
But all of these things are really just bonuses to the true meat of Christmas' true cause of celebration: Christ has come and is here. It's time that we put things away—put aside the lights, gift wrappers, unhealthy diets, comparisons, world-based merry-making.
But one thing we can never cast aside is the reality and truth that Jesus is alive and has come to save us all.
In times like this, I am reminded of what happened in Acts 1:11. As Jesus was taken up to heaven to be glorified, two men in white robes came to the followers who watched Him go up saying, "Men of Galilee, why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!"
When we know Christ is risen and that He is glorified and on the move, it should compel us to also be on the move—not to just wait for the next Christmas celebration. Not that there's anything wrong with anticipating the next Christmas, but what do you do between those two dates?
The message of Christmas urges us to live the message of Christ revealed and alive not just one day of the year, but every single moment we live out. As Colossians 2:6 tells us, "Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him."
Christmas, of all times, is a great reminder that our redeemer lives. It's also an occasion to compel us to once again approach a New Year and new season with the thought that God is very much alive and working in us.
