Merry Christmas! This is a special edition of A Radical Thought. Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. To be completely transparent, I love giving and receiving gifts, but that is only a small reason why I love Christmas. For a brief time, the world around us seems to focus differently, and for many the focus is o the reason for the season – Christ!

As Christians, our focus should always be on Christ, but if we will be honest with ourselves, life sometimes has a way of distracting us from a clear focus on Christ. As I reflected upon that reality it reminded me of how we treat our cars. You can drive a car for its entire life without servicing it. You probably understand that the longer you drive a car, the more it needs to be serviced.

The longer you go without servicing your car, the more poorly it performs. And if you go too long without servicing it, your car will break down. For the best performance and the longest life, you need to regularly service your car.

In a way, our celebration of Christmas is like that for me. It causes people to focus on the reason for the season – Christ. In our verse for the day, the angel told the shepherds that a Savior, the Christ had been born in Bethlehem. As Christians, when we celebrate Christmas, we are proclaiming the very same thing to the world around us – a Savior was born into the world.

When we proclaim the birth of Christ, we are also drawing attention at some level to the whole gospel message. Jesus was born so that He could make a way for us to be saved from the consequences of our natural rebellion against God. It also points to God’s motivation for sending His Son to save us – God loves us. In fact, God loves the whole world.

Christ is the reason for the season and love is the reason for Christ! As you celebrate the birth of your Savior, use your celebration to tune up your love for God. As you express love to others, let it remind you to express love to God. As you exchange gifts with those you love, be thankful for the gift of salvation that came through the birth of Christ. When someone greets you, respond with the joy of knowing you already have the gift of eternal life.

Merry Christmas to you and your family. It is my prayer for you that God blesses you in some special way. Have a radical week with Jesus!