A Reason To Celebrate

What makes Christmas come alive for this popular pastor.

- Max Lucado

I love all the trappings of Christmas. Bing and his tunes, Macy’s balloons, mistletoe kisses, Santa Claus wishes, the tinsel and the clatter and waking up “to see what was the matter.” I don’t even complain about the crowded shops. The flight is full, the restaurant is packed. Well, it’s Christmas! Why do I love it so much? Because someone somewhere will ask the question “What’s the big deal about the baby in the manger?”

Christmas is how it all began, the perpetual presence of Christ in our lives. He called himself “Immanuel,” which means “God with us.” God where we are: at the office, in the kitchen, on the plane, around the tree. The manger invites, even dares us to believe that the best is yet to be. And it could all begin today. This is the moment…

When love came down to save us from ourselves.

One busy holiday season traffic had turned the streets near the mall into chaos. I made a right turn onto the avenue just as a kid in a low-riding, wide wheeled, exhaust-puffing jalopy made a reckless U-turn around the median. We nearly shared paint. I honked at him, not a polite “Ahem, excuse me,” but a long, strong, “Do you know what you almost did?!?” As the car accelerated, a long arm came out of the passenger’s-side window and gave me a backhanded, one-fingered wave.

I sped up. Thanks to a traffic light, I was soon side by side with the perpetrator. “You need to watch that wave, son,” I said. In an ideal world he would have apologized, and I would have wished him a merry Christmas, but he smirked and said, “Make me!”