Taking a Stand for Christmas
December 2nd, 2005 | Posted in » My Life / Family
This coming Christmas will be my first year with my new employer. In my new company, management level employees are expected to send Christmas cards (or rather, holiday cards) to individuals we’ve worked with or done business with over the past year. We’re allowed to select and order our own cards, to reflect our individual tastes.
This expectation presented an interesting quandary: be politically correct and send generic holiday cards (as everyone else has planned to do), or take a stand for Christ by sending cards reflecting the true meaning of Christmas? It really shouldn’t have been a difficult decision, but ask my wife how I struggled with this.
Yes. Even something as seemingly trivial as selection of a Christmas card brought fear and uneasiness. Kind of a sad statement about my trust in Christ… about how I live a life that demonstrates commitment to Him. At least it seems that way to me, looking back on the decision.
Anyway, here’s the text of the card I selected:
Front of card:
(Image of magi following the star)
The wise still seek Him…Inside of card:
Wishing you the gift of faith
the blessing of hope
and the peace of His love
at Christmas and always.MY COMPANY’S NAME
So what do you think?
Personally? I think our Lord will be pleased.
Anyway, like I said, this wasn’t an easy decision for me, but the following passages about persecution helped…
Matthew 10:26-33
26“So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 27What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”32“Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”
Luke 21:12-19
12“But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. 13This will result in your being witnesses to them. 14But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. 15For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. 16You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17All men will hate you because of me. 18But not a hair of your head will perish. 19By standing firm you will gain life.”
No doubt… whatever consequences I might receive as a result of sending a few Christ-centered Christmas cards are far less than those so many of our missionaries face each day… but it’s small steps of faith that strengthen us in our walk.
This seemed like a giant step for me.
7 Responses to “Taking a Stand for Christmas”
1 Trackback(s)
- Dec 10, 2005: skullfood
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By Judah on Dec 3, 2005
I would like to think that your courage might bring a few other “closet Christians” out of the woodwork, those who are not quite so brave in the face of today’s tyrannical political correctness, and encourage them to be more open about their faith also.
Good one, John!
By Micah on Dec 5, 2005
John-
It’s good to hear about your decision. I can sympathize with the difficulty of the decision, but isn’t it freeing to make the right choice? btw would you guys be free for dinner this coming Sunday after church?
By John on Dec 5, 2005
It is certainly a good feeling to do something that honors our Lord… to make the right decision by publicly proclaiming that Jesus is Lord of my life. A bit scary… but good.
(Side note: ever notice how easy it is to take a stand online vs. real life? Pretty easy to be fearless when you’re relatively anonymous… but to proclaim Christ in real life, you make yourself vulnerable to attack by those who disagree. With potentially real consequences, it’s much more difficult. Another topic for another day, though…)
Anyway, one thing that I can hang my hat on in this is that I know some of the people to whom I will be sending these quite well, and many of those will appreciate the message in the card. That certainly helps with the decision.
Like I said, though… small steps in the right direction strengthen our walk. Over time, you can find yourself miles from where you once were. When going in the right direction… it’s a great thing.
By Judah on Dec 6, 2005
Maybe you can practice online to get more used to it in real life.
After all, you can still get put through the grinder online.
(Yay, don’t we already know!)
By John on Dec 10, 2005
The above trackback comes from an interesting site. Seems the author is doing a bit of exploration in the Christian blogosphere. It’s not clear as to their spiritual well-being, but let’s pray that if not saved, the author finds a few nuggets of truth which lead him to Christ.
By Judah on Dec 11, 2005
Aha! This was the blogger who discovered us both.
Greetings to skullfood (should he return) and may he uncover a goldmine of truth when he follows the right vein.
Yep, I am the one said to be fretting.