Rev. Franklin Graham on taking religion out of Christmas:
Just last week I was at Gap, and I asked the cashier if she celebrated Christmas. She said no, but she and her family celebrate this time of year because that is when her Dad died. That hit me really hard and made me sad. This poor girl doesn't understand the true meaning of Christmas. Maybe that is because no one has ever explained it to her. It is a celebration of the fact the one and only true living God who on Christmas day sent his son Jesus to be our savior.
When we give in to the world's pressure to say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas," we are missing an opportunity to share God's love with people like her. Maybe we should take it even a step further by not only saying "Merry Christmas," but also briefly and lovingly explaining to people like the Gap girl why we choose to say that. Then, just maybe, during the Christmas season, she and others like her will think about the one and only true living God, the creator of the universe, the God who died for us so we might spend all eternity with Him in Heaven. And isn't that what Christmas is all about?
If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."
Mark 8:38
So, are you a "polite" Christian? Maybe you're too polite! Maybe you deserve Darby's Woopie Award.
So here is a big fat Merry Christmas from Darby! Now go share it with someone who really needs to hear it!
