Read:
Matthew 2:16
Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him.
Ponder:
Two thousand years ago, King Herod attempted—and failed—to eliminate the baby who was the Savior and King of the universe. Outwitted by the wise men from the east, Herod ordered a killing spree, commanding the murder of all male children in the region who were two years of age and under. What he didn’t know was that God had warned Joseph to take his wife Mary and baby Jesus to Egypt so that they might be kept safe.
Ever since then, humanity has been trying to eliminate Jesus from Christmas. Trees, presents, mistletoe, wreaths, snowmen, Santa Clause, reindeer, snow, Hallmark movies, sugar cookies, twinkling lights, and family cheer—these have become Christmas. We’ve hidden the baby Jesus beneath many straws of hay. Our Christmas parties are inns without a spare room. The shepherds stay in their fields, and we’ve become blind magi, swapping gifts with one another, never noticing the bright star in the sky that leads to a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes. We have eliminated Christ from our lives, even at Christmastime. Especially at Christmastime.
For some, there is a remnant form of Christ in our Christmas traditions being observed each year. Our religion will not allow us to abandon baby Jesus. But without realizing it, we have substituted a sterile and safe baby Jesus to think about, sing about and put out in our lovely nativity sets. Things must change. We must change.
We must choose today to put away our Christmas idols. We must put the gifts and the wreaths, the Christmas trees and mistletoe, etc in their proper place…behind our worship of Immanuel, God With Us. Each year, we have the opportunity to remind ourselves that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We have the opportunity to remember that a long time ago a relative of Jesus (John the Baptist) came to tell about the Light so that all might believe.
Let’s put away our idols and instead of celebrating Christmas, let’s celebrate Christ. Let’s read the Christmas story for ourselves and to each other. Let’s share the gospel. Let’s feed the hungry and clothe the naked. Let’s love God with all of our heart, all of our soul, and all of our mind. And then let’s love our neighbors, all neighbors, as ourselves. Let’s do these things and more all year long.
Respond:
An idol is anything or anyone that we worship or revere or value more than God. God wants to be first in our life. He wants us to value Him more than anything or anyone. He alone is to be worshiped. Sometimes we lose our way and discover that we have begun to value other things more than God.
Let me share with you 3 simple little things you can do to keep God first and foremost in your life.
- Eliminate idols by reading Scripture.
- Eliminate idols by recognizing what is holy.
- Eliminate idols by honoring the Sabbath.
Idolatry is a condition of the heart, but these three steps will shape your heart in the right direction.
