The Trajectory of Christmas

I have to admit, talking about my faith has always made me a bit uncomfortable. From a church pulpit? Of course. Here on the blog? No problem. It’s expected. But in normal, everyday life? It can be a little awkward trying to insert Jesus into a mailbox conversation with a dog-walking neighbor.

But honestly, I think it’s because I was never sharing the proper trajectory of the Gospel.

It’s not a road we travel, a mountain we climb, or an award we earn. It’s not a product we sell. It’s not an argument to win or a set of morals to debate.

It’s news to proclaim. Good News. The Gospel was God’s move toward us.

A few years back at our company Christmas party, I had the honor of sharing some thoughts with our entire staff – seventy plus in all. The basic idea is reprinted from our employee newsletter below. The Gospel message is at the heart of Christmas. Regardless of who signs your paycheck, maybe you’ll find yourself in here somewhere, too.

Dear Staff,

Christmas is a time for joy, family, giving, warm feelings, cheesy songs, and over-indulging (come on, let’s be honest). I know all of us step into this season in our own ways, with our own histories, with our own perspectives and emotions (good and bad). And while most of you are probably fully aware that CRF is Christian-based company, we’ve tried hard to never make any of you feel like you have to share our beliefs to be a valued member of the team. I hope you would concur.

That said, it would feel funny not to mention the core of the Christmas season in the December “Holiday” edition of the employee newsletter.

God came for us.

No, really. I hope you caught that.

God came for us.

You see, most of us instinctively know a “religion” that is about striving to live right and earn our way into God’s good graces. But Christmas flips this “work your way to God” idea right on its head. When we were far from God and couldn’t get to Him, He didn’t demand that we figure out how to cross the great divide. He came to us.

We think that’s pretty amazing news – you know, the kind worth celebrating with a major holiday or something. And it’s our sincere hope that wherever you are and whatever you believe, you and your families have your best Christmas ever.

Jesus came. Immanuel. God with us.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you, too. The Lord is come! Who knew? Christmas is an action word, and it’s moving in a specific direction! Maybe consider mentioning that to someone this year. It’s pretty Good News.