I have little desire to argue the merits of public manger scenes, to fret about pagan influences or to religiously check whether folks greet me with "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas."
I once had plenty of energy to do just that. I shuddered at how Christmas was losing its Christian beauty in the hands of a world. It riled me up to see how the world loved the feel-good spirit of the holy day, but not the God who made it all happen.
But the Father settled my spirit. He has let me see that the best advertisement for a Spirit-led Christmas is me. My task is to keep Christ the foundation of my Christmas merry-making, to resist the gurgling sewage of commercialism, to reflect on the twists in my own soul, and to make sure I sing the beloved carols with a heart that believes.
What the culture believes about Christmas and how they want to reinterpret elements of it, such as the carols (there is a controversy going on now in Great Britain about a writer whose speech was "too Christian" for a carol service) -- should have no power to stir a self-righteous lather within in me.
God gives free expression of belief, and if He chooses not to thunder from the heavens right now about how the world reimagines the gift of Christ, I must not stew over it either. He continues to lovingly offer the gift of His Son, and as one of His ambassadors, so must I.
