Husezo Rhakho
I can still hear the Christmas music playing from the tape recorders as I close my eyes and rewind the clock to my childhood days in Kohima. How I wish I could teleport myself back and experience again the innocent joy of anticipating Christmas along with my family, friends and in fact, the whole colony together in one accord. By mid-November, the spirit of Christmas would be in the air – a most contagious spirit – and the moment a particular house would stop playing the beautiful Christmas music, almost immediately, another house would start…it was a spontaneous reaction because there was no room for silence in this joyous celebration of the birth of our King!
As children, we could barely contain our excitement as there would be various kinds of Christmas-related competitions among the colonies. The whole atmosphere was charged with the pulsating heart of Christmas…decorations and carols were simply the icing in the cake; we were genuinely waiting for the moment we would welcome and honour the new born King once again. It is due to the amazing grace of God that all the children would wait wholeheartedly for Jesus even though we had yet to experience a deeply rooted personal relationship with Him.
There are many instances when I find myself longing to turn back the sands of time. But as we all know, wishful thinking will get us nowhere. The day we have at hand today is a gift, which is why it is also called the ‘present.’ This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! It is true that we cannot bring back the past, but we can definitely influence the present. Our celebrations should be directly proportional to the progress in years because we are getting closer to the second coming of our King!
It is disheartening to see a more superficial celebration of Christmas these days.December is supposed to be celebrated as the month of the birthday of Christ when all the Christians celebrate it joyously together across the globe. This is the time of the year when families finally get to meet up after the busy year of work and studies. We meet friends after years and months; everywhere there is joy and happiness in the atmosphere. There are countless stories to be told, so many gatherings and picnics and merry-making occur. On the other hand, if we ponder about it seriously, December is also the month when so many accidents ensue; so many people give in to the lures of the world, and there is a heightened activity of sin. It is crucial that we recognize the symptoms of the enemy’s attack on our spirituality, under guise of the festivities.
Many Christians either turn a blind eye or are blissfully ignorant that specially in the month of December, many of us inadvertently attempt to blend Christianity with pagan practises such as consumption of alcohol, immoral activities, late night parties, and so on and so forth. Non-believers who live among us mock us that in the name of Christmas, many Christians indulge in unhealthy and sinful acts – which is contradictory to what we preach – during December. Most of the youth look forward to Christmas season as an excuse to consume more intoxicating substances. It is quite astonishing that many parents become more lax in disciplining their children and hence give them more freedom during Christmas season; this is when many young ones are led astray by bad company as they taste forbidden substances for the first time, which consequently turn into habits and addictions over time.
How our Saviour must grieve when He sees that the number of late night drinking parties increase in leaps and bounds on the eve of Christmas and New Year. Instead of prayerfully anticipating the birth of baby Jesus and awaiting the gift of yet another year, many people stay up all night for all the wrong reasons.
Most of the churches and fellowships emphasize on spending some time every year to elucidate the significance of the topic ‘What Christmas means to me.’ This sharing is included for good reason; every Christian should be aware of the real value of Christmas. Once we are armed with this knowledge, we are called to follow and bear good fruit akin to seeds which fall on good soil.
As we have arrived on the threshold of the month of December, let us challenge ourselves to make this Christmas season of 2016 one that is both pleasing and acceptable to our Lord. Actions always speak louder than words; our behaviour is leaving an imprint on the lives of all the non-believers in our vicinity. Should we not go forth as messengers of goodwill in spreading the true spirit of Christmas and bringing them to Christ? Let us not deny the responsibility entrusted to us as children of the light. The battle cry has already been sounded by the enemy camp; it is now our turn to lift the banners high and clothe ourselves with the armour of God. When we emerge victorious in Christ, we can also happily bring our gifts of love to the new born King. Just as the three wise men honoured baby Jesus more than two thousand years ago, our gold, frankincense and myrrh will be contained in the souls we have won for Christ!
