“Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus’” (Luke 1:30-31 NKJV).
 
“And she brought forth her firstborn Son and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7).
 
The words “Merry Christmas” are becoming rare these days, as we draw closer to the return of our Savior. It seems these words are being replaced with “happy holidays.”
We do wish everyone happiness during the holidays, but we must remember that this particular holiday is the celebration of a very special birthday — Jesus Christ’s. When we celebrate our birthdays, we receive gifts in different forms and really enjoy them. God sent His Son into the world as a gift to us that we might be saved and live eternally happy. When Jesus the Christ child was born, He was given expensive gifts by the wise men who had been told who and where Jesus was. They greatly honored Him.
 I really enjoy this season of the year — the festivities, food, bright lights everywhere, Christmas trees all lit up. One of my favorite things is observing all the nativity scenes in different yards. Some of the scenes represent Santa and his reindeer; some depict the Christ child in a manger with His parents Mary and Joseph and the stable animals, etc. Still others may represent both. Either way, there is a celebration going on.  
Another thing I observe is that during the Christmas season, people are more cordial to each other than they are during the year. So shouldn’t this burst of joyful energy be attributed to something other than a “happy holiday”? Should we not give our Savior credit for our joy? After all, it’s His birthday we are celebrating and He should be included.  
He was given to us as a gift from His Father, and all He asks of us is to recognize Him as Lord and Savior. So let’s put Christ back in Christmas because without Christ, there really is no Christmas.
Merry Christmas to all and a happy and blessed new year!
 
Edwards is the senior pastor at Agape Christian Fellowship Church and a member of the United Ministerial Alliance.