Advent-ure Day 20: More Christ in Christmas

The story of the Wise Men, or the Magi, depicts learned men who were seekers of the truth.  They followed a star and brought gifts to the King whom they had sought out.  And...they worshiped.  Hebrews 13 gives this admonition to us:
15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
16 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

We, too can be seekers of truth, and motivated to seeking out God's Word.  But, we certainly are to do more than just read or casually study - we are to be more than hearers of the Word, but also doers.  We are called to walk in the truth we have seen, to be obedient - to follow God's guidance.  We give of ourselves so that He may be glorified.  We can be challenged to worship our King; with a pure and devoted heart, we bring praises to His holy name.

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We are now on Day 20 in the Faith Radio Advent Guide, 25: A Christmas Advent-ure. And, we have come to a rather unusual song that, taken in its entirety, attempts to give a biographical sketch of those Magi, or Wise Men, men who studied the stars, who followed one particular star to Bethlehem to see Jesus.  The verses of We Three Kings deal with the personalities and purposes of these "three kings," as well as their gifts.  The chorus points to that spiritual GPS of old - the star in the heavens that led them to Jesus.  When they came to Jesus, they presented their gifts and worshiped the newborn King.

Matthew 2:10 serves as our theme Scripture - I want to share it, as well as the following verse:
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Christmas is a time in which believers in Christ can take the opportunity to bring our worship to Jesus; and a new LifeWay Research study shows that Americans at large could stand to have more spiritual meaning in their Christmas celebrations.  According to a Baptist Press story:

A new study from LifeWay Research found two-thirds of Americans (65 percent) say, "Christmas should be more about Jesus."

Those looking for more Christ in Christmas in 2018, however, are significantly fewer than four years ago. A 2014 LifeWay Research study found 79 percent of Americans at that time said Christmas should be more about Jesus.

And, the bulk of the decline comes, not surprisingly, from those not claiming to be Christians.  The article says:

Much of the shift came from non-Christians. In 2014, a majority of members of other faiths (63 percent) and almost half of the non-religious (46 percent) agreed that Christmas should be more about Jesus. Today, those numbers have dropped by nearly half.

The article says that 35 percent of Americans of religions other than Christianity and 28 percent of those who are "non-religious" believe there should be more of Christ in Christmas.

But, there is still a significant number of people who are offended by the generic "Happy Holidays" greeting: 40 percent of Christians and 32 percent of Americans in general.  This is similar to four years ago.  And, 65% of evangelicals pan "Happy Holidays."

But, Scott McConnell, Executive Director of LifeWay Research, does offer some perspective.  He points out that "it appears there is less cultural expectation for celebrations of the Christmas holiday to include the religious aspect."  He also relates that, "It's likely that Christians and older Americans are nostalgic for previous years or reluctant to acknowledge that not everyone celebrates Christmas this time of year," adding, "Many have the idea that most Americans are the same or that we share one culture of baseball, apple pie and Christmas, but that's not the case...And when we encounter someone who believes differently from us, that can be jarring and even seem offensive for some."

It is Christmas, a special time of year that is celebrated by an overwhelming majority of population in America. Last year, Pew Research released a study, and the summary of it offers these data points:

• Nine-in-ten Americans (90%) — and 95% of Christians — say they celebrate Christmas.
• 46% of Americans say they celebrate Christmas as primarily a religious (rather than cultural) holiday, down from 51% who said this in 2013, 
• Millennials are less likely than other adults to say they celebrate Christmas in a religious way. 
• A majority of U.S. adults (56%) also say religious aspects of Christmas are emphasized less in American society today than in the past, though relatively few are bothered by this trend.

Something that we can remember during this run-up to Christmas is that we can look for ways to take this sensitivity to a holiday with spiritual roots and share the spiritual meaning.  The Christmas narrative and its meaning are so amazing, and we can seek to represent Him well during this season.  I would contend that it may just be that people are more receptive to spiritual truth during this time of the year.

For the Christian, I think we should make sure that our Christmas celebration is centered on Christ.  There are all sorts of fun aspects to the holiday that we shouldn't necessarily de-emphasize, but we have to make sure that the presence of the Lord is not diminished by our concentration on those things.

Our song today is We Three Kings, and following elements of the Wise Men's story, this time of year can offer opportunities for guidance, giving and worship.  The Lord gave them a sign - a star, and He wants us to turn to Him for direction.  They presented gifts, and we can recommit to giving of ourselves and participating in the spirit of giving this time of year.  And, the Christmas story is a story of worship, and we can approach Christmas with that attitude.