“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
In 2019, respective polls by research companies Gallup and Pew revealed that 93% of the United States’ 329 million occupants celebrate Christmas, yet 26% of our nation’s population describe their religious identity as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular.” If you run the numbers, this means that at least 63 million of those celebrating Christmas this year in America don’t even believe in it.
You could argue (especially if you’re an atheist, agnostic or a nothing-in-particular) that Christmas is a secular holiday. Sure, it has become very commercialized, with most retailers making one-fifth of their year’s profit between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, but it’s a religious holiday, plain and simple. It commemorates the nativity of Christ; a historical event recorded in the biblical gospels of Matthew and Luke that provide particulars as to date, place, and circumstances of the birth of Jesus Christ. The word “Christmas” contains nine letters, the first two-thirds of which spell the word “Christ,” referring to Jesus of Nazareth, the one Christians believe to be the incarnate Son of God. Some worry that Christ will be taken out of Christmas. It is impossible. It can’t be done.
The prophet Isaiah wrote many things about the coming Messiah hundreds of years before He arrived on the scene. One of which was “that every knee in all the world shall bow to me, and every tongue shall swear allegiance to my name (Isaiah 45:23).” Isaiah was encouraging those exiled in Babylon to remain faithful by looking to God, the only one that could save, instead of the idols worshiped by other nations. The apostle Paul quoted this well known passage from Isaiah in Philippians and Romans, saying that every tongue – every person – would eventually confess that Jesus is Lord “to the glory of the Father,” pointing specifically to the Second Coming of Christ.
God has an uncanny way of getting those who don’t normally bow and confess to do so anyway. He did it with “unlikelys” at the first Christmas, ranging from shepherds to kings. He does the same today with the likes of you and I and the agnostics, atheists, and nothing-in-particulars that roam the malls and search the internet for last-minute gifts for their loved ones.
And why do the agnostics, atheists, and nothing-in-particulars give gifts at Christmas time? Because around 336 A.D., December 25th became established as the day of Jesus’ birth. At that time Christians began the tradition of gift giving, which was connected to the story of the Magi’s visit to the Christ Child. Also, around the same time, Saint Nicholas (yes, the real Santa), a Christian Bishop and gift-giver, emerged on the scene.
The fact that one of the most important Christian holidays is celebrated by more than 63 million non-believing Americans, is just another example of how every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, whether those that do the bowing and confessing choose to do so by their own volition or not. Even those who don’t profess Christ for who He is still manage to get into the Christmas spirit. As William Francis Nigh (a.k.a. Billy Mack in the movie “Love Actually”) sang, “I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes, Christmas is all around me, and so the feeling grows.”
You don’t have to believe in God to acknowledge His existence, and you don’t have to trust in Christ for salvation to acknowledge that He saves (but I would highly recommend you do so; click here to find out why). Just celebrate Christmas and you’ve endorsed His presence. Look to the mountains and you’ve ratified his handiwork. Hold a new born baby in your arms and you’ve glorified His creation. Just our very existence on Planet Earth forces us to recognize that there is a God and we are not Him. The Psalmist said: “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” Everywhere I go “you are there (Psalms 139:7-12).” The Psalmist just as easily could have said, “Everywhere I go, you are already there.”
I’m so glad that the God of the universe stooped down some two-thousand years ago and gave us the best present we could ever receive; a less than 10 pound gift, wrapped in “swaddling clothes, lying in a manger”; a true bundle of joy, “a Savior which is Christ the Lord.” I’m glad he included you and I in the group of “unlikelys” somewhere between the shepherds and kings of this world. Joy to the world, the Lord has come!
May we choose to bow before Him this Christmas, out of gratitude and willingness, with a gift for Him – ourselves. It’s the least we can do for the gift of hope and salvation He has given us. Yes, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas everywhere I go,” whether you’re a believer or not. Christ will not be taken out of Christmas. God won’t allow it. It’s all about Him.
Merry Christmas from The Weekly Winning Thought … and play to win this Christmas in the game that really counts!
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