The Reason for The Season

I love Christmas... the whole season. The anticipation, the lights, the story, the wonder, time with family, festivities. Christmas has a way of making us feel cozy right at the darkest time of the year. The Light shines in the darkness and we huddle around it.

Of course, for Christians, the main focus of the holiday is the birth of the Baby, none other than the Savior of the world. What a wonder to think that the Lord of everything should stoop so low to be born among us... out of His love for us. Amazing.

But that's just the beginning. Sure, Jesus is the reason for the season. But in a larger sense, Easter is the reason for the season. Without the work of Easter, Christmas would be a fascinating oddity.

I sometimes wonder why Christmas has grown to be the biggest holiday among us instead of Easter. I guess it's a bit more difficult to market sin and suffering, death and resurrection. The cross that spanned the distance between heaven and earth. That all doesn't play so well to the culture at large.

So, fine then, let Christmas get all the hype and hoopla, decorations and movies, parties and baked goods by the dozens. But in the midst of the merriment, keep your eye on the horizon. There is a cross on a hillside, a stone rolled away, a temple veil torn in two. Easter changed everything. Easter is the reason for the season.