Merry Christmas

I was watching a cable news network yesterday and one of the anchors made the comment that because 5000 people showed up at a mall for a flash mob to sing Hallelujah, "this is a victory for Christmas." It seems that the 'fight' over the 'reason for the season' happens every year. Most notable is the debate on retailers saying Happy Holidays versus Merry Christmas. There are people who are offended if you say Happy Holidays and then there are people who are offended if you say Merry Christmas. There are arguments for both sides. And I understand both sides of the argument.

I am writing because I have learned that God will always be with me, whether a retailer says Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays. I know that Christ arrived in the flesh and God sent Him to redeem ALL of us. So no matter where I am at in my life, no matter what situation I am in, God is always with me, you...us. I believe in this so much that I purchased two mezuzahs and put them up at the two main doors we exit every day. This is a Jewish  custom. A mezuzah is a capsule. Inside of the the capsule is scripture from the old testament. This scripture states "for me and my house we will serve the Lord." The scripture within our mezuzah also has new testament scriptures that tells us that God will always be with us no matter where we are. The point of me putting the mezuzahs up is that as we leave our house, we touch it and the act of touching reminds us that we are God's children. It also reminds us that as we enter a world that is full of all sorts of wonderful people who have different faith traditions, God is with us and HE is with them and we are ALL of his children. They are all of my brothers and sisters.

Because I am not offended or am 'fighting' for my right to say Merry Christmas does that mean then that I am not a christian? I guess it depends upon your definition of 'being a christain.' I know what I believe. I know that I am a child of God and in Christ Jesus. Jesus was sent here by God to show us the way. I believe when you read the Bible and study what Jesus was/is trying to teach us:  forget the rules and laws that keep you from having a relationship with God and from loving your brothers and sisters. Jesus was telling us the 'fight' is much larger. It is a fight within our own selves and within the world against evil. Evil side tracks us by disguising it self as being righteous. Blinding us from not seeing the true injustice that is so prevalent in this world. Evil will have us believe that Christmas and our belief that God sent His only son into this world to redeem us is taken away from us by a retail store deciding to say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas."

I ask us to think about this: Is Christmas taken away from someone in prison suffering for their belief in Jesus Christ? Is Christmas taken from those who are not able to afford to go to retailers and purchase gifts for their beloveds? So why are we offended when someone or a group of people choose to say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas? Should we not be offended at the child sex trafficking that is so prevalent in our own cities? Should we not be offended by the lack of food, medical services, and availability of vaccines for children around the world? Or is it just 'easier' for us to be upset by  people saying "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." My guess is that it is easier and evil has disguised itself as righteousness.

As we Christians prepare for the birth of Jesus, the Christ, we should also be reminded He was here, and will always be here. It is whether we choose to continually discern what God wants from us; not what others want from us and definitely not what the world wants from us. We know that evil would have us believe the most trivial of things can be disguised as righteous ("Happy Holidays" versus "Merry Christmas"). It is up to us to continually look to Christ for the way to live and to remember the true meaning of Christmas. Christ entered this world for ALL and because HE entered the world and redeemed it, we cannot be separated from God.