Christmas Magic

Why is Christmas so magical? Is it the weather? Is it the breaks from school or work? (Though breaks do always produce a little bit of magic!) Is it the smells: evergreen, cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla? Or maybe it’s the sounds, the music, the plays, and the movies? Or the sights, the colorful lights, the shimmery snow falling softly in the night sky?

Or maybe it's none of those things. Maybe what really makes Christmas magical is that it’s the time of year when everyone suddenly remembers what’s really important in life. We’re kind and forgiving towards family and friends (even when they've hurt us) because “it’s Christmas” and we want to keep the peace. We buy gifts for needy children just to see their faces light up with smiles for one day (despite the fact that for the other eleven months of the year, we refuse to give their families anything because they’re all “lazy Welfare abusers”). We donate extra money to charities so that starving families in our communities can actually have a nice meal one night. We bake cookies, brownies, and pie for everyone at work or school (whether we like them or not). We volunteer. We host parties. We sing. Some of us actually go to church for once. We smile and glow because for one month of the year, we actually make an effort to bring joy to others…and we realize that we enjoy doing so.

Joy and giving. Those two words can pretty much describe all of the special things we do every Christmas season. But why do joy and giving have to be confined mostly to December? What if we treated every month like it were December? What if we celebrated every single day as if it were Christmas?

What if we should?

Sometimes we reserve our joy for the Christmas season only. And other times we don't feel any joy at all...ever. Sometimes life is just tough and all of our days are stressful, sad, and difficult--especially Christmas. But as Christians, we've been given hope and a new life in Jesus! We should rejoice and be glad every day because of what He has done, shouldn't we?

"Be joyful always." --1 Thessalonians 5:16

"My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you--I, whom you have redeemed."

--Psalm 71:23

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."

--Matthew 13:44

The last verse makes me think of the end of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, when Scrooge is suddenly filled with a new joy and runs around town wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, giving away food and turkeys to needy families for dinner. What if that were how all Christians acted every day: dancing, singing, and running around town sharing the joy that Christ has given us with everyone? This is what I think we should all aim and pray for! What a different sort of place the world would be!

So with that thought, I'd like to wish everyone who reads this a very Merry Christmas! My prayers will be with you all! "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13) Peace, God Bless, and Happy Holidays!