How Will They See Jesus?
it was becoming too commercialized. The stores would begin displaying Christmas trees, ornaments, lights and wrapping paper before Thanksgiving had come and gone.
Still, until a few years ago, nearly every town square was graced with a scene of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus along with a smattering of wise men and animals. Children still sang songs like “Silent Night, Holy Night” and “Away in a Manger” in their public school Christmas programs. Oh yeah, and back then we were able to call them Christmas programs instead of Holiday programs or Winter programs.
Even though money seemed to be the driving force behind Christmas, we did our best to keep it merry and bright and Jesus was allowed to remain a part of the celebration.
Today, not only is Christmas more commercialized than ever, Jesus has been removed from public displays, from school programs, and even from the lips of store clerks and waitresses who have been ordered to say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.”
There was a time, not that long ago, that I thought of the words of the song, you’re the only Jesus some will ever see, as referring to the outcasts of our society, those who chose not to know Christ or who were so downtrodden that no one would want to go near them to tell them about Christ.
But now I wonder, How many people do we walk by every day, at the mall, where we work, in our schools, who have never heard the name of Jesus? How many people, even affluent people who have never spent a cold night on the street, only know Christmas as a time to spend with family, giving and receiving presents and enjoying lots of food?
Have you ever stopped to think where a child in public school who does not have Christian relatives or even know any Christians would hear about Jesus? They certainly don’t hear about him at school and probably won’t through all 12 or 13 years, except to hear his name used in vain.
We think of unreached peoples as living in far away countries that we would have trouble locating on a map, but there are people all around us who have not heard of the saving power of Jesus because this teaching about Christ has been removed from our schools and from our government.
This Christmas, you and I can probably not do a single thing to make Christmas less commercialized for our society as a whole, but we can bring hope to a dying world by loving our neighbors, by showing kindness to everyone we meet, by extending forgiveness where none seems to be deserved.
This Christmas season, make it your gift to those around you – your spouse, family, friends, neighbors, strangers – to bring light to a dark world by being Jesus to those who might never see Him except in you.
May the Light of the World grant you and yours a joyous Christmas season.
About the Author
Claudia Pate the owner of The Anniversary Shop, an online store dedicated to helping celebrate wedding anniversaries with gifts based on traditional and modern gift themes by year.
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