Search

What’s After Christmas?

My favorite time of the year is over. But that doesn’t have to be a sad thing because Christmas is just a great opening chapter to the greatest biography ever. So the significance, joy, and meaning of the season can continue if you follow the rest of the story.

That’s why I’m not so fond of the idea of portraying Christmas as the end-all season. “THIS is what makes everything okay. THIS is the hope of the world.”

Uh… yeah, but not entirely.

Like that popular Christmas carol goes, singing “That man will live forevermore because of Christmas day,” is like saying:

(introducing my new Choose Your Analogy feature)

A.) That the evil Empire will fall because Luke Skywalker’s Uncle Owen bought some new droids.

B.) That the spread of darkness in Middle-Earth will be defeated because Bilbo went on an adventure.

C.) That the Von Trapp kids will have a new mom because a young nun plays hooky in the mountains.

D.) That there will be a bank run, flying nannies, and dancing chimney sweeps because the Banks kids can’t retain a steady governess.

E.) That Lotso’s criminal empire over a daycare center will end because a little boy named Andy received the latest space ranger toy.

F.) That Solid Snake will become the deadliest agent in all of military history (including you, Sam Fisher) because Big Boss started Outer Heaven in Zanzibar.

G.) That Gotham will have the hero it wants but not recognize the hero it needs because a young couple was mugged outside a theater.

H.) That Jose Rizal would write two nationalistic novels because as a boy he saw a butterfly fly too close to a candle and burn to death.

I.) That Mr. Darcy will make the most radical marriage proposal because the Bingley’s have moved into the county.

J.) That Michael Corleone will become the most powerful mafia boss in the US because a young Vito Andolini was able to escape to New York.

K.) That Elle Woods, sorority girl, will make it to the United States Congress because her boyfriend dumped her.

In other words, that’s the beginning of how it happened, but hardly the whole story. There’s so much more to it after that.

In the same way, Christmas is an inspiring and beautiful chapter of the story of humanity. It speaks of the fulfillment of God’s promise, to send a Saviour to fix our deepest problem of all – sin. Stinking, rotten sin. Touching all of life sin. Leaving nothing unscarred sin. Sparing no one sin.

And like that Christmas gift which goes way beyond what you expected, God didn’t just send anybody to save us, He sent Himself, in the form of Jesus Christ.

So yes, Jesus was born in a manger, and that’s pretty amazing on its own. But the story doesn’t end there. He did a whole lot more things after that. And the effect of all this on you will depend on whether you know and believe the rest of the story. So read up on it this year. You can’t know it enough.

Join the discussion

1 comment
  • marvelous! i will take heed. you are one amazing young man, because of the on going story of CHRISTmas.

More blog posts

Our National Purpose

I’m posting something I wrote for one of our discussion forums in Asbury Seminary. (I’m in seminary, by the way.) I just wanted to...

Connect with Joe