‘Happy Holidays’ is slowly replacing ‘Merry Christmas’ in our post-Christian culture. Fewer and fewer stores have greetings or displays which have anything to do with the birth of Jesus. It is not surprising. The human heart does not find the true Jesus attractive; in fact, He is (rightly) perceived as a threat to self-rule and self-exaltation. As in first century Jerusalem, He must be marginalized or, failing that, destroyed.
Less obvious, perhaps, is the gradual but monumental shift of emphasis in many of our churches. Rather than redemption, the “good news” seems to be the promise of psychological integration. Instead of a call to holiness, there are suggested paths to “wholeness”. In place of sacrifice and serving, there are benefits and blessings. Yet, the glorious truth cannot be suppressed: Jesus Christ came to save sinners!
Originally written Christmas, 2003