The Trilogy of the Holidays!

The God of Christianity reveals Himself very specifically to the world as the triune God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That is why some of God’s greatest revelations about His creation are displayed in three’s. For example humans, the crown of God’s creation, are also triune beings. We consist of spirit, soul and body. Our triune design separates us from every living creature on the planet. It is the main reason we have the greatest capacity to create. We, as human beings, are the ones crafted to be the most like our Creator.

During the most wonderful time of the year, we celebrate three important holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Understanding the significance of these holidays, and why we celebrate them, is vital to knowing God. The God of the Lord Jesus Christ is the reason for the season! Let me further explain through my own personal 2010 holiday experience.

After a month of feasting on great food and desserts during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday, I am entering the New Year with a full belly and an expectant heart. Why am I so expectant? Am I expectant because I think the economy is going to turn around, and as a result, allow the multitudes to experience new prosperity? No! Am I expectant because I think the war against those who want to do evil to others is going to end? No! Am I expectant because I think our government is going to unify and solve all of our nation’s social ills? No! Am I expectant because I think nothing negative is going to happen in 2011? No way!

I am expectant for one reason and one reason only: I know my God is good!

I have spent more time than usual over the holiday season thinking about the goodness of God, and praying about what He wants to do in the future. It all began with the Thanksgiving holiday. As I thought about the goodness of God during this holiday, I could not stop thanking Him for the kindness he has demonstrated to me over the years. I am thankful for: life, salvation, health, my family, my church, my job, my friends, food, house, clothes, etc. I could go on and on listing the things I am thankful for in my life.

Instead, I will write about what makes me the most thankful. I am most thankful that my gesture of gratitude is not a random one. In other words, it is a very specific, personal and intimate expression of thanks to the God of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The modern Thanksgiving holiday traces its origins from a 1621 celebration at the Plymouth Plantation, where the Plymouth settlers held a harvest feast after a successful growing season. This was continued in later years, first as an impromptu religious observance, and later as a civil tradition. Who were these Plymouth settlers giving thanks to? You got it…the God of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! It was not a fortuitous celebration of gratitude.

When thankfulness is not haphazard, it manifests in a very specific expression—giving. Thanksgiving, the first in the holiday season, prepares our heart to celebrate the Christmas holiday with a gratitude of giving.

Why do we give gifts on Christmas? We give because God in His love first gave to us. He gave us the greatest gift ever given to mankind. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” A good gift displays three (there’s that word again) things to the recipient: (1) it demonstrates value, (2) it is a personal investment, and (3) it meets a specific need. God gave the life (demonstrated value) of His Son Jesus Christ to save us (personal investment) from our sins (specific need), and give us eternal life (good gift).

The amazing story of Christmas is that God came in flesh (the Incarnation) to live and dwell among us. We can know Him (very definitively and intimately) through His Son Jesus Christ. This God is not only good; He is personal and relational. I think it is best summed up in the Christmas Song, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”:

Christ by highest heav'n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin's womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Knowing and giving thanks to the Christ of Christmas is important because He is the only One who has the power to make all things new. That is why on New Year’s Eve we make resolutions in hopes that our lives and circumstances will change for the better. Newness, like the concept of liberty, is a thought that is emphasized in the Bible. In fact, it is the central purpose of Christ’s ministry. He is the Lord our God who makes all things new. Most of us don’t live up to our resolutions because we try to do them in our own strength. We need God’s help to embrace the new and make the necessary life changes.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17

Thanksgiving to God prepares us to celebrate the gift of Christ and opens our hearts to receive the new things God wants to do in our lives! I thank Christ that the new has come!

My faith in Jesus Christ and His goodness is why I enter 2011 with great expectation!

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Happy New Year!