Christmas ideas for decorations and gifts are festooning stores. The Hallmark Channel is advertising special holiday movies. And I am already planning gifts for three new grandchildren, two of whom will be around at Christmas, one who will still be growing inside his mother.
Do I mind this early preparation for Christmas? No. I see it as extending the celebration of that most holy of days, the birthday of our Savior. Though the prophets have told us that Christ was not born on December 25, it is the day we have set aside for that celebration.
And then I wonder, why do we not celebrate this miraculous event all year long? If His birth, His ministry on earth, His atonement are truly the most important events in the earth's history, then we should be celebrating Him all year round.
Notice I say "celebrating Him" rather than "celebrating His birth." That was deliberate. Our lives should celebrate Him. Our comings and goings should celebrate Him. Our words and our listenings should celebrate Him.
Naive? Perhaps. But if we bring Christ into our lives on a daily basis, on an hourly basis, it can change us. It can change the world.
Joy for today: celebrating Him.
We should celebrate Him all year round. But oh how I do love the Christmas season.
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