Christmas is a time to be holy and righteous

God promised to fulfill the promise made to the House of Israel and to the house Judah to cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David. That one would be the Messiah who would bring justice and righteousness in the name of the Lord. Christianity understands this prophetic call from the 33rd chapter of Jeremiah to point the way to Jesus Christ.

Such is the way the Church looks forward toward the Christmas celebration that is now only four weeks away. It is a scriptural reminder that, as we prepare for Christmas, we are not necessarily preparing for a secular holiday. As Christians, we are preparing for the coming of Jesus Christ. This means Christianity looks at these next four weeks through a completely different lens than the rest of the world.

Unfortunately, this message of hope and promise is often lost in the secular traditions surrounding the holidays. That is not to say that there anything inherently wrong with the secular realities that have become such an ingrained part of American culture. The Holiday spirit entrenched in the secular customs does have merit. For the Christian, however, a critical question of balance must be in the forefront of the season.

This is a time for seeking justice and righteousness in the name of Jesus Christ. That means Christians seek out God’s justice and work to embody God’s righteousness in life. Tragically, however, even these two essential biblical principles are frequently lost to the distortions of modern thinking. “Justice” too often plays out as seeking revenge through a court or seeing one who has done wrong get punished by legal or natural means. “Righteousness” is an unhealthy distortion whereby people spend more time judging and scrutinizing others whom they do not understand rather than faithfully lead their own lives in the guidance of God’s loving grace, compassion, and understanding.

The time leading up to Christmas can also be a time where Christians open our hearts to God’s Spirit in new and powerfully transformative ways. It is a time when we seek to bring balance and harmony to life—not run ourselves ragged with shopping, wrapping, and decorating. It is a time when we seek the blessing of forgiveness and grace—not stress over who’s getting what. It is a time of giving of ourselves as a blessing to others—not draining our financial resources to appease others.

God will remain God whether or not the people of God are attentive to God’s ways. People can choose to glorify God or glorify Santa. It is truly a question of priority and balance. Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 3 that our true calling is one of love and holiness. It is nothing short of the finalization of the prophetic relocation of Jesus Christ reaching back in time to the visions of Jeremiah. Christ became the fulfilment of Jeremiah’s prophetic utterance, but it is those who follow Jesus Christ that are tasked with the sacred blessing of becoming the love and holiness first embodied by Jesus.

Christmas is a call to simply be holy and righteous as Jesus is holy and righteous. While this can be done while participating in secular observances of the Christmas Spirit, it is also vital that all Christians do so with the necessary balance of godliness and holiness in order to continue fulfilling Jeremiah’s prophetic vision for the salvation of humanity through living in love and holding fast to a life that is truly set apart from the ways of the world!

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Christmas is a time to be holy and righteous