The following article was published in the Arthur Graphic-Clarion in December 2015.
Christmas is not about us. Christmas is not about the economy. Christmas is not about who has the best decor. Christmas is not about ________ (you add your own here). Christmas is about God coming to earth to save the world through his son Jesus Christ and showing us how to live for God’s glory instead of our own. In 1 Corinthians 10:31 Paul reminds us that we are to do all that we do in this life for the glory of God.
In her book “In My Father’s House” Corrie Ten Boom tells the story of a monk who sang a Christmas song every Christmas Eve for his brothers in the monastery, and for visitors who would come from the village for special services. His voice was very ugly, but he loved the Lord and sang from his heart. One year the director of the cloister said, “I’m sorry Brother Don, we will not need you this Christmas. We have a new monk who has a beautiful voice.”
The man did have a wonderful voice, and everyone was impressed. But that night an angel came to the superior and said, “Why didn’t you have a Christmas Eve song?” The superior was very surprised and said, “We had a beautiful song, didn’t you hear it?” The angel shook his head sadly and said, “It may have been inspiring to you, but we didn’t hear it in heaven.”
Corrie goes on to write, “The old monk with the raspy voice had a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus, but the young monk was singing for his own benefit and glory, not for that of the Lord.” This story made me think about how we celebrate Christmas. Is it for our own benefit, pleasure, and excitement? Or is it a celebration of our relationship with Jesus our Savior?