Much ado is made about Christ during the Christmas season. You see it everywhere, from Facebook to Twitter to bumper stickers to refrigerator magnets, all adorned with phrases such as “Jesus is the reason for the season” or “keep Christ in Christmas.” Then there is the music!
Now it is the day after Christmas and all we are left with is great memories, stuffed bellies, and new things. Christmas has come and gone, along with all the hyper-active talk about Jesus and, for many, the passionate, intentional focus on the Christmas Story. Personally, I can live without the abundance of hyper-active “keep Christ in Christmas” Facebook statuses and bumper stickers. But I can not live without the Christmas story. Especially the day after Christmas. So with that in mind, I offer you 12 truths of Christmas day-after:
1. The day after Christmas we remember the truth of the Incarnation, that the “Son of God became a man so that we could become sons and daughters of God” [1]; “He became the Son of Man so that God could dwell in man.” [2]
2. The day after Christmas we remember that even in God’s silence, He is listening, working, and moving for our good and His glory.
3. The day after Christmas we remember that the King of the Universe began His work of making His Kingdom available to all when He entered into our messy world through a messy stable so that our messy lives could be forever changed.
4. The day after Christmas we remember that God can always be found when we seek Him, but He is often found in the most unexpected of places.
5. The day after Christmas we remember that big movements of God often have the smallest of beginnings.
6. The day after Christmas we remember that love is wrapped up in a blanket of grace and rests in a manger of mercy…and so do our lives.
7. The day after Christmas we remember that we love because God first loved us.
8. The day after Christmas we remember that the kind of love God gives is the same He requires: unconditional, humble, sacrificial and faithful.
9. The day after Christmas we remember that Jesus is not really the “reason for the season,” as much as He is the reason for life.
10. The day after Christmas we remember that the true way to keep Christ in Christmas is to keep Him as King of your heart and Lord of your life.
11. The day after Christmas we remember that the world is a dark place in need of Light; Jesus became the Light of the World so we would let the light of Jesus within us shine, as we love Him and love all people in both word and deed.
12. The day after Christmas we remember that in Jesus, God brought heaven to earth and has called us to live in such a way that we do the same.
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1. St. Anthanasius of Alexandria, A.D. 296 – 373
2. St. Augustine of Hippo, A.D. 354 – 430
