Where will you find the holiday?

Have you baked your first Christmas cookie yet? Hung your tinsel? Shopped until you dropped?

I listened with interest to a recent radio program where several individuals were asked about their best memories of past Christmases. Some remembered visits to grandparents, others recalled presents they’d received, and still others said they liked to celebrate the “religious” aspect of the holiday.

Religious aspect?

I don’t know about you, but without the biblical prophecies and their fulfillment, Christmas for me and my family would easily become an exercise in futility. If the day is based on nothing more than tinsel, shopping, baking and weariness, I can live without it. If the holiday is just a chance to feel good, eat too much, and spend more money than I should, my time would be better spent at the gym or in front of the fire reading a good book.

Christmas for  me is a time to remember when God showed His love for us by sending His son to live in our world.  Both the Old and New Testaments point to God’s promise of a Savior to save mankind. Isaiah, the prophet, foretold His arrival—

Isaiah 9:6: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government there will be no end.  He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.”

So as you move on into this holiday season, keep Isaiah’s words tucked in your heart.  Remember Christmas began in a manger and not at Macy’s.