Merry Christmas

Christmas is a wonderful time of the year, for me and many others. Why do so many of us love Christmas? Is it the gifts? Is it time with family? Is it the food? What is it?

I think it is because Christmas allows us to focus on what we believe. You and I walk through our day making many decisions, and these decision are all based on what we believe.

For me, Christmas is about a baby born in a exposed cave of animals and straw, God's own son. Many reading this will scoff at such a notion and cast it aside because they have been told it is just a story, a fabrication made up to appease man. But, from where does a story come? Does it not come from some truth? And, how deep would a fabrication have to go to convince the whole world, in such a deep way, that kings would convert and change the religious orientation of their countries? How great would the story have to be to have the world's calendar changed to reflect this "so called" fabricated birth of a child? How wide spread would the conspiracy have to be to produce such a world-wide celebration as Christmas?

Was there no baby? Was there no star in the sky? What about the three kings, the shepherds, and the animals? Is there really no Christmas? If none of this is true, then from where did it come? Why did it come? What was the purpose of such a story? Why, then, does the world celebrate Christmas? Is this celebration based upon the greatest fabricated tale of all time?

The answers to these questions are found in each heart. They are not rhetorical questions or collective questions, but instead, they are questions with which each individual must struggle and wrestle. There was a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. There was a star in the sky that led three kings to a cave. The baby grew to become a man that changed the world. This man was nailed to a cross, died, but He rose from the dead, appeared to many and ascended to heaven to come again. He is alive and preparing to come again, and when He comes He will reign forever. Those who know Him will live eternally in His kingdom with Him forever, and those who do not know Him... well, the Bible has a lot to say on that subject. I will leave it at that.

This is what I believe in my heart. It is this belief that is the foundation for my decisions each day. It is why I love Christmas so much. What do you believe in your heart?

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas! Have a wonderful New Year!