As we draw near to Christmas, it is understandable that we who love the Lord look with dismay on the secularization of the season. It seems as if Santa has replaced Jesus everywhere. But it would
probably be good for us to ask the question whether many people, without knowing it, are doing something that pleases the Lord. For example, those who are scrambling for the perfect gift until they are exhausted, devoting their time, energy and money, are they trying to please a beloved someone? Is their desire to do this not something the Lord would approve of? Are those rude people who cut us off in line in order to grab the last ham in the grocery aisle really just harried parents who want to prepare a special Christmas meal for their children from a very limited budget? Is their desire to do this pleasing to Christ? And the people who crowd into church once a year on Christmas, are they in some small way seeking the Christ child? Is the Lord glad to see them? Perhaps even the “secularized” Christmas contains the seeds of the Kingdom Christ has come to bring. And maybe in God ‘s grace, someday those seeds will blossom into an ability to understand more fully the true reason for the season.
