Is Christmas over?

But Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and thought about them often (Luke 2:19).

In a Peanuts cartoon by Charles Schulz, Lucy throws up her hands in utter despair and shrieks, "For months we looked forward to Christmas. We couldn’t wait till it came, and now it’s all over!"

Is Christmas a fraud? For a few brief moments there is a special glow in the air. Life is gentler, happier, more exciting somehow. For a few breathless moments, the world is a magic place where everybody loves everybody and problems melt away. But then the magic moment is past. The tinsel wasn’t silver after all, only aluminum foil. The problems all return, and the joy and laughter turn out to be only whistling in the dark. The warm glow of friendship disappears, and people become strangers again, passing each other by, unknown and unrecognized.

My friends, it need not be like this; you can have a Christmas that is more than a few days’ distraction from the onslaught of winter. Presents may all be opened, and many already exchanged. Trees may be taken down and lying outside waiting to be burned. But Christ is not gone, not if He is living in your heart. God’s gift of His Son is still shiny and precious and new. God’s gift of His Son saves you from enslavement to being foolish and impulsive; God’s gift of His Son frees you from the weight of your guilt over mistakes that have hurt those you love and left you feeling trapped in a cage of your own making. God’s gift of His Son is the gift that keeps on giving every day of the year—giving forgiveness, giving hope, giving strength, giving inner peace.

For the unbeliever, Christmas celebrations only last a brief time before they’re over—then it is on to the next holiday to find further distraction from the worries of daily life. But for the Christian, Christmas celebrates the anniversary of God giving the best gift of all—the living Hope of peace with God, peace with ourselves, and peace everlasting—a gift that gives joy to our lives every day of the year. Please join me in praying:

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for leaving the wonders of heaven to come and share Yourself with us. Come live in our hearts, and remind us every day of the wonderful gifts You bring us—gifts of mercy when we have done wrong, gifts of strength when we are weak, gifts of wisdom when we are confused, gifts of hope when thinks look bleak. Be with us always, Lord Jesus. Amen.