the why of christmas

This year I have spent many hours thinking about how different God's ways are from the ways of the world.  And how sometimes things become so much a part of life that we don't even stop to question if it is really honoring to God.  As I sort through activities, relationships and traditions I have come to question the why behind how I spend my days on this planet.

Lately this pondering has centered on Christmas.  The world has taken the celebration of
Christ's birth and morphed it into a time of materialism, family drama, and stress.  Christmas.  The celebration of Christ's birth.  The celebration of when God took on flesh and came to earth.

Did He come in a position of fame and wealth?  Did He live out the American dream?  Did He come into a position of power?  No.  He came in the humblest manner possible.  God came to earth as a newborn baby.  Born in a dirty cave surrounded by animals to a mother who had no wealth and held no political position.  Even His bed was just an animal trough with hay.

As I watch my own newborn, I am in awe that the Creator of all life would come to us in this way.  The Almighty King, a vulnerable infant unable to eat or move without the help of his parents.  My brain cannot wrap around it.  A love that great.  A God that took on the lowliest position to demonstrate His awesome love for us.

And so I have come to this basic why of Christmas:

We give gifts to celebrate the greatest gift.
We show love to celebrate the greatest love.
We sacrifice for others to celebrate the greatest sacrifice.

This is Christmas.