True meaning

It's that relaxed time between Christmas and New Year's, when most of the holiday bustle has slowed down, children and many others are still on break, new year's resolutions are being made, and the "big party" is yet to come.  This year I had a hard time getting into the holiday spirit like I usually do.  Maybe it was partly the weather being so warm so late, maybe it was the limbo of no nursing job for 6 months after school, maybe it was all the transitions being made around me, maybe it was a slight depression, maybe it was a lack of funds, but whatever the case, I felt a little Scroogish this year.  Oh I put up the tree and I gave gifts, but it was a much more forced endeavor this year and on a much smaller scale.

During the season I heard various people talk about the true meaning of Christmas, mostly in reference to people reaching out to other people or giving to those less fortunate.  It got me thinking... is giving to or serving others the true meaning of Christmas?!?  Why is this holiday, outside of the whole over-commecialization thing, such a big deal?  I've heard Christians critisize the holiday because, eternally speaking, Easter is really where Jesus' purpose is celebrated. 

But in my reflections and wonderings I came to the conclusion that the true meaning of Christmas really is gift giving.  It's not about us serving others or giving gifts to others, because that servanthood and loving kindness should exist all throughout the year, but it's about the God of all gods, Creator of the universe, a mighty and awesome God, stepping out of heaven and into the flesh of his creation.  It's about God gifting his presence to the world, because of his great love for us, thus setting in motion the climax to his plan for salvation which had begun the moment that man fell from perfection.  And the low-key, humble way that God chose to put his plan in action, started the overhaul of what believers are called to.  "God chooses the humble things of this earth to shame the wise."

I pray that as this season draws to a close once again, that the "true meaning" of Christmas, that "God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him should have eternal life" will truly sink into your heart and soul.