Articles - Miscellanea

This is the time of year when many Christians expend the bulk of their religious fervor (most of the balance occurring at Easter). It is also a time when a great deal of the religious significance of this season is overwhelmed by crass commercialization and unrestrained materialism. Some Christians are repulsed by Christmas because of what commercialization has down; others do not celebrate it because there is no directive in the Bible to give Christ’s birthday a special celebration. Whether one opts to recognize the birth of Christ or to ignore it altogether, one fact remains: the birth of Christ is one of the four greatest, most improbable, and intensely inscrutable events in all existence. These events overshadow all human history, achievement, and thought. They are 1) the Creation (the work of God), 2) The Incarnation of Christ (the birth of God as a man), 3) the death and resurrection of Christ (the suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection of God), and 4) Christ's Second Coming (the return of God). If we would stop the excessive spending, insatiable wanting, and foolish squabbling, we might have time to consider things “that cannot be told, which man may not utter (2 Corinthians 12:4 ESV).”