Lifestyle Columnist, Amanda Alexander
Christmas time, a season where God decided to birth into the earth, peace and goodwill toward men through His Son Jesus Christ and reconcile mankind to Himself, that to me is the true meaning of Christmas.
However, it appears that God’s gift is now rejected, Christmas is anything but love and peace, instead it is synonymous with greed, debauchery, debt, increased suicides and the mere mention of it brings a groan to the hearts of many. I was astounded recently by an Argos advertisement on the front cover of the Metro which depicted Christmas as being a time of sharing the day with disgruntled, ungrateful family and friends, and the way to have a good time was by the gifting of an Argos present. It could safely be said that Christmas, where once was celebrated as the birth of Christ in the majority of Christian countries, has now become subjective and an occasion to be pigging out on wine.
Let’s do our own Christmas trail…Lets start with the day after ‘Remembrance Sunday’. Walk into the majority of retail stores, and you’ll see glistening balls and Christmas trees. First thought, what does so and so want for Christmas? Next stop…Christmas lunches and parties are in full swing, new outfits a must, and one mustn’t forget to get fully slung out of our heads.
Third stop: where is Christmas happening? – with mutterings not Uncle Fred with his drunken self and salami breath. Fourth stop, crank up the credit card to buy presents for people we cannot stand and hardly see, but we’ll give them with a fake grin on our face. Fifth stop of the day has arrived, eat and drink non-stop, this year we’ll watch the King’s speech, play some party games, then conk out on the sofa with stretched out stomachs.
Next morning the question arises, what did we actually celebrate? In two words ‘ABSOLUTELY NOTHING’. So what was the point, after all the only god we were serving in all of this was our belly. Hence why all the negativity surrounding Christmas, the reason is the real meaning was lost and replaced with selfishness, greed and strife.
So how do we come back to the real meaning of Christmas? How do we come back to honouring God and each other in truth and love? How did we get to be in this place where it’s all about us? Actually we start with us, and ask ourselves some serious questions such as what are we doing? Why are we doing it, and who are we glorifying? When we do that we will realise that Christmas is not a pigfest, a one upmanship on the Jones’ (anyway who are the Jones) and we are supposed to live for God and each other on a daily basis in love and peace.
I’m sure God is not opposed to us doing something a bit more special on Christmas day like having a turkey with trimmings together, and exchanging gifts since the wise men brought gifts to Jesus. Christmas is peace and goodwill toward men, and going home to God once our life on this earth is finished, not the mess that we see playing out every December.
I implore you this Christmas don’t believe and get caught up in the hype. God’s gift of love is free, just receive it, it’s yours, that’s the true meaning of Christmas.
So until next year, remember you are beautiful and wonderfully made – With love Amanda x
Amanda Alexander is a Pastor, Teacher, TV Media Journalist
Founder of Female Dignity, Warrior Women, Amanda Alexander Productions. She serves on the leadership team of New Life Church in Bishops Stortford and is ministry coordinator for
Patrick’s Mission
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