Doug Powell at Parchment and Pen reminds me that “Merry Christmas” is actually more offensive than most people realize. What is “Christmas”? It is a celebration of the advent of the incarnate Christ, the Son of God. For what purpose did He come? To redeem mankind from the Fall– to offer up His life to God as a propitiation for our sin and undo our alienation from God.
So, Christmas is a reminder of our sin and the blessed provision of God in Christ to save each of us from it. If we were intrinsically innocent people, the incarnation of God the Son wouldn’t have been necessary.
Although I don’t like confrontation nor do I like to cause unnecessary offense, I wish more people understood that our sin is what demanded the incarnation and eventual death of Christ. Only then can we truly have a blessed Christmas!
“God rest you merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay.
Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day;
To save us all from Satan’s pow’r when we had gone astray.
O tidings of comfort and joy!”
