All That Glitters

Christmas items for sale at Starbucks, Grosvenor House, London,
Author Simeon87 (CC BY-SA 4.0 International)

The holiday season has officially begun.  Indeed, for anxious merchants it began well before Halloween.

Banal romance movies set against a Christmas backdrop now fill the airwaves.  Secular carols blare from store loudspeakers.  Products ranging from belt sanders to toenail clippers are described as perfect gifts.  Displays of every kind glitter and shine.

But all that glitters is not gold.  The reason for the season must not be lost.  We are, first and foremost, celebrating Christ’s birth — not materialism, not romance, not even family.

Admittedly, the means at our disposal for celebrating such a miraculous event are limited.  How can human beings adequately express their wonder at a God so merciful He would take on flesh for our sake?

So we fall back on tinsel and Christmas lights.  We give one another gifts, though it is His birthday.

We must not, however, confuse those trappings for the real gift.  We must not forget the true source of our joy…the source of all blessings.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1: 17).

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