ON CHRISTIANITY
Posted: December 21, 2009 at 4:19 a.m.
LITTLE ROCK — DEAR REV. GRAHAM: Don’t you think our society has lost sight of the true meaning of Christmas? I wonder what Jesus would think if He walked through one of our malls around Christmas and saw all the decorations and everything, but nothing about His birth.
- R.O’M.
DEAR R.O’M: I would have to agree with you. Increasingly, our world has forgotten the true meaning of Christmas. Most people still know that it commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ over 2,000 years ago, but they don’t take time to reflect on why that’s important orwhat it should mean to us today.
Why is this? Why have we substituted the glitter and gadgets that fill our malls for the greatest gift the world has ever received - the gift of Jesus Christ? One reason is because our society has become more and more secular in the last half century or so, moving God to the edges of our lives and assuming we can live without Him.
In other words, instead of building our lives on the foundation of God’s Word, we’ve substituted our wisdom and our way of doing things. This should cause us grief, because it means that all around us are people who (as the Bible says) are “without hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12).
Don’t just lament this, however, or look down on those who don’t understand the true meaning of Christmas. Ask God to help you be a witness for Christ to those around you - by your life and your words - especially during this time of the year when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
Write to Billy Graham in care of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, N.C. 28201 or visit the Web site at
ActiveStyle, Pages 30 on 12/21/2009
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