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The Christmas Spirit


            During this time of year, it is helpful to take some time to reflect on what it really means to celebrate Christmas. More specifically, it is beneficial to think about what kind of attitude, or what kind of spirit, should mark us as a result of Jesus’s birth as the incarnate Son of God. The true Christmas spirit is not one of warm, sentimental emotions that result from sipping eggnog next to a Christmas tree. The true Christmas spirit is something much deeper and more lasting than the nostalgic feelings we often feel during this most wonderful time of the year.

The Christmas Spirit is a Spirit of Worship

            Christmas should be all about worship. We are celebrating the Advent of Emmanuel, when the Son took on flesh and dwelt with man so that he could save his people from their sins. What other response is adequate but awe and worship? Even the “wise men” from the east came and fell down and worshiped Jesus (Matt 2:11), though they probably understood little of his significance. How much more should we who have the entire canon of Scripture to read and meditate on fall on our knees to worship Christ, the Incarnate Deity?

            How do we do this? Sing the old Christmas hymns (like Hark! The Herald Angels Sing) that contain the deep theology of what happened when Jesus was born, not simply as Christmas carols, but as hymns and songs of praise. Gather with the body of Christ this Christmas morning in a frame of worship and sing and hear the Word preached. Read the Christmas story with your family and talk about the glory of who Jesus is. Worship Christ this Christmas. Every other aspect of the Christmas spirit flows from this spirit of worship.  

The Christmas Spirit is a Spirit of Joy

          Christmas should be a time of joy. The announcement of the birth of Christ is described by the angels as “good news of great joy” (Lk 2:10). When the wise men saw the star over the place where Jesus was, they “rejoiced exceedingly with great joy” (Matt 2:10). When we meditate upon who Jesus is and the redemption that he brings, we should be led to rejoice. Jesus came to save those who put their faith in him. He came to bring peace between God and men. He came to conquer sin and death by himself dying and rising again. He is our Savior, our Lord, our King. These truths and many more should lead not only to worship, but to joyful worship.

            For some, Christmas will be a time where there is sorrow and grief because it is a time when loved ones who have died, are away, or with whom relationships appear irreconcilable are missed more than usual. This is unavoidable, and it is natural to feel this sorrow. Yet, when we recognize what Christ has done for us in humbling himself and becoming a man so that we might be delivered from our sin, be reconciled to God, and have a hope of a future resurrection, we should also be led to rejoice. So even though there surely will be sorrow on Christmas, let it be mingled with inexpressible joy in who Jesus is and what he has done.   

The Christmas Spirit is a Spirit of Sacrificial Love

            While worship and joy are the more obvious and talked-about aspects of the Christmas spirit, Christ-like, sacrificial love is another prominent aspect of the Christmas spirit. Paul exhorts us,

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Phil 2:5–8)

Jesus, though being God, emptied himself of his glory to become a man, walk this earth, die, and be resurrected so that God’s enemies could be reconciled to him. This act of sacrificial, humbling love is a big part of what we ought to celebrate this Christmas.

            However, we should not merely seek to celebrate Christ’s sacrificial love this Christmas, we are called to have the same attitude. John writes, “We have come to know love by this: that Jesus laid down his life for us; thus we ought to lay down our lives for our fellow Christians” (1 John 3:16 NET). Paul writes, “And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Eph 5:2). Jesus humbled himself and became a man to save lowly sinners, and we should love both believers and unbelievers with the same kind of self-sacrificial love.

            Christmas is about celebrating Christ’s sacrificial, humbling love for us and should lead us to lay down our comfortable lives to help others. When we see Christ’s humility in becoming a man, how can we think that we are above serving and helping any human being? When we hear of Christ’s sacrificial love, how can we go on living in our own bubble of self-absorbedness? When we behold Christ’s lack of concern for holding on to his heavenly glory, how can we go on in holding tightly to our own comfort? Jesus’s humility that we see in the Christmas story should lead us to be of the same humble, self-sacrificial spirit.

            Out of the three aspects that I’ve mentioned, this last one is the hardest to apply. In fact, we often think less about this aspect of the Christmas spirit than the other two. It wasn’t until I read J. I. Packer on this topic, as quoted in this article, that I really began to think about it.

 It is much easier to talk about worshiping Jesus and rejoicing in him for who he is and what he has done, but it is a lot harder to step out of our comfortable bubbles and lay down our lives for those in need. I struggle with this. Too often, I hold onto my own comfort and even fail to think of letting it go and serving others in humility.

It is all too natural for us to become self-absorbed. But that is not the spirit of Christmas. The spirit of Christmas is a spirit of joyful worship that leads to sacrificial, humbling love for others. Much more could be added to this, but I hope these reflections are helpful in kick-starting more reflection on what it means to celebrate Christmas and what sort of attitude those who believe in Jesus should be marked by this Christmas.         
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