Christmas is not a mood.
It is not a memory.
It is not a moment on the calendar.
It is a confrontation.
If everything the church has confessed about the incarnation is true—if God truly took on flesh, entered history, bore sin, and rose in victory—then Christmas does not leave us unchanged. It demands a response.
Neutrality is no longer possible. Sentimentality is no longer sufficient. Observation is no longer obedience.
Christmas presses the same question upon every generation:
What will you do with Christ?
Christ Did Not Come Merely to Be Admired
The modern world is comfortable with admiration.
Admiration costs nothing. It requires no repentance, no surrender, no transformation. One can admire Christ while remaining unchanged by Him.
But Christ did not come to be admired.
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46)
To encounter Christ and remain unmoved is not humility—it is rebellion disguised as politeness.
The shepherds did not admire the child.
They worshiped Him.
The magi did not reflect quietly.
They bowed.
Christmas demands more than warm feelings.
It demands submission.
The Incarnation Calls for Repentance
The birth of Christ exposes the lie that humanity is merely misunderstood.
If mankind only needed encouragement, Christ would not have needed to come. If moral reform were sufficient, the cross would have been unnecessary.
But the incarnation declares something far more severe—and far more hopeful:
We were lost.
We were dead.
We could not save ourselves.
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…” (1 Timothy 1:15)
Christmas confronts us with the reality of our sin—not to crush us, but to call us home.
To celebrate Christmas without repentance is to enjoy the benefits of grace while refusing its purpose.
Christmas Demands Allegiance, Not Ambiance
Jesus did not enter the world as a consultant or counselor. He came as King.
A King whose authority extends over:
- conscience and conduct
- worship and work
- family and future
- life and death
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:18)
Christmas does not ask us to add Christ to our lives.
It commands us to reorder our lives around Him.
The question is not whether Christ fits into our traditions.
The question is whether our lives bow to His rule.
Faith Must Move Beyond the Season
One of the great dangers of Christmas is that it allows people to feel religious without becoming obedient.
Church attendance spikes. Scripture is quoted. Carols are sung. But when the season passes, so does the seriousness.
This was never the intent.
The Christ who was born in Bethlehem demands the same allegiance in January as He does in December.
If Christmas does not shape:
- how we repent
- how we forgive
- how we pursue holiness
- how we love our neighbor
- how we submit to Scripture
Then it has been reduced to pageantry.
The Gift Demands the Giver
God did not give us an idea.
He did not give us an ethic.
He gave us His Son.
And gifts of that magnitude demand response.
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)
The gospel does not ask for partial devotion.
It calls for full surrender.
Christ did not withhold Himself from us.
We are not permitted to withhold ourselves from Him.
A Final Word
Christmas will either harden you or humble you.
It will either remain a tradition you enjoy—or become a truth that reshapes you.
The child born in Bethlehem did not come merely to be remembered once a year. He came to reign forever.
So the question Christmas leaves behind is not whether you felt something…
…but whether you bowed.
“For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.” (Romans 14:9)
That is what Christmas demands.
Nothing less.
Soli Deo Gloria.
TheoloJeep 
Leave a comment