Jesus: Our Reason

Every year, as the new year gets closer, we see the world softening. Homes are decorated with lights, generosity awakens, thankfulness abounds, and even the media becomes more pleasant. People find a warmth in their hearts that leaves them; they find a purpose that they’ve paused; they, for a season, turn their attention to God and His Son. You will see it, I am sure you already have, the famous slogan: “Jesus is the reason for the season.” 

While the root of such a celebration is folly, a tradition rooted in human tradition, I can appreciate that Jesus is standing in the limelight of people’s hearts. However, it is quite disappointing to see how many will put Jesus on the mantle of their lives, allow Him to collect dust, and treat January through November with the thought: “I am the reason for the season.” Jesus is not a reason for a season; He is an everyday reason for a godly life - “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Phil 1:21)

Jesus is the reason why we can rise each day with hope (Col 1:27), the reason we practice holiness (1 Pet 1:15-16), the reason we forgive (Eph 4:32), the reason we march forward as life tries to push us backward (Heb 12:1-2). Jesus is the stability of our lives (Col 1:17).

Many wish to honor Christ for coming into the world, but the only way to truly honor Him is through our change. To honor Christ is to be the people of His possession (Titus 2:14). It is a matter of being conformed (Rom 12:1-2). We are to be lights to the world (Matt 5:14). Unlike the holiday lights, which we string up for a season and then store for the right time, we are to be always shining forth.

Honoring Jesus is not ornamenting your life; it is daily discipleship that refuses to box Him and unbox Him like the star atop the tree. He is not a decoration for a day or season, but the motivation that changes our lives - our lives at work (Col 3:23), at home (Eph 5:1-2), our priorities (Matt 6:33). He is not an ornament, but the orientation of our lives.

The season will end, the cycle will continue, but you must not be beguiled into the same way of thinking. Keep honoring. Keep serving. Keep growing. You can be like the world and put up a nativity scene, or you can be led by the cross - which will you do?