Electric Jesus

Electric Jesus


The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14 New International Version

What is Christmas to you? Is it a few days off from work? Is it a time to celebrate? Or maybe Christmas is a hassle to you. Maybe it is troublesome because you have to prepare extra food, there are gifts to buy and you have to contend with difficult relatives. I think some people divorce Jesus from Christmas and call it Xmas or Holiday Season as a crude attempt to be respectful of the beliefs of others. Maybe some remove Christ from Christmas to hide their own atheism. Or maybe Christmas is nothing more than something I saw while checking out the Christmas décor of some neighbors. I saw an illuminated nativity scene. Jesus was flickering and about to go out. Joseph and the black dude were missing. I wondered if my neighbors were trying to make a political statement or if they were so lazy they set out an incomplete and barely working set.

I think that Christmas is more than an illuminated baby Jesus in the middle of an incomplete nativity scene. I think Christmas is when we remember that Jesus was a real and living man. But that he was also the real and living God that made His dwelling place among us; that He was and still is full of grace and truth. I think Christmas is when we remember that God loaned out His son for thirty-three years, and in the end dropped him on a cross for the expressed purpose of buying us back (Isaiah 53:5). Back into His good graces and into a relationship of peace, prosperity, and goodwill.

I think it odd how people might see an electric Jesus on someone’s lawn and think that is all there is to Christmas. I think that Jesus was born to buy us out of our sin condition. And if I am right, it makes sense that these few days in the Christmas season should be a time of celebrating and of comfort and joy--tidings of comfort and joy.