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Believe in what your heart is saying
Hear the melody that’s playing
There’s no time to waste
There’s so much to celebrate
Believe in what you feel inside
And give your dreams the wings to fly
You have everything you need
If you just believe
Is this really true or is it the kind to tripe Americans have dredged up to somehow make the Christmas holiday somewhat meaningful? I propose that we rename Christmas “Dream Day.” After all that is what Christmas is all about isn’t it? Children dream about the toys and goodies under the lighted trees. Adults dream about someone loving them enough to actually be sacrificially thoughtful. Our elders dream about their families coming and fussing over them and making them important for at least a day.
The whole religious overtone is completely unnecessary. We can be nice and give gifts because we have decided that it is mutually beneficial to support our economy (and each other) by expressing extravagance at least one season a year. Without “Dream Day” were would the retail establishment in the United States be, after all? We really don’t need all that baby Jesus stuff. Santa is so much better, his followers actually make stuff to divert or entertain me and they didn’t write any boring books!
BUT
What if my heart is saying, “I’m broke”?
What if the melody that’s playing is “Taps”?
What if my life is full of wasted time looking for a job?
What if I am lonely and can’t find anyone with whom to celebrate?
What if what I feel inside is like constant nausea?
What if my dreams lay shattered on the floorboards of my existence?
What if I need food, clothing or shelter?
What if I just don’t believe anymore?
Am I kicked off the Polar Express or should I just stay on the ride into some fantasy land I know for certain never existed?
The holiday I celebrate this season says to the burdened, the weary, the naked, the homeless, the hurting, the suffering, the disappointed, the sick, the empty, the unbeliever,
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.“ (Matthew 11:28, ESV)
and
“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.“ (Matthew 25:35-36, ESV)
and
“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.“ (1 John 3:16-18, ESV)
This is the true mission of Christmas, if we will just believe.
TheNarrowRoadPursued 
As you know son, I have often struggled with the expression of the true meaning of the Christmas celebration. One’s expectations, at whatever stage of life (child, adult, elder) during this season of the year do seem to center on receiving…emotionally, materially, physically as you have suggested in the opening paragraphs. And this appears to be a worldwide phenomenon. I wonder if this is not as it should be and our perspective has just been warped by the world, the flesh, and the devil. So I guess for just this moment, I wish that the whole world were into the “receiving” mode. Receiving the Gift of the Savior. Receiving the gifts that are received as sacrificial offerings. Receiving love not measured by money or toys or even return of emotional investment but as expressions of the very best in ourselves. Perhaps if we would humble ourselves to be ‘receivers’, then we would be able to understand the true cost of giving.
Good word! Perhaps if we did really receive the Giver would be completely free to grace others through us.
I watched the film version of this book this week with my grandson. This was a book I always read to my classes. But I realized as I watched the movie, they’re talking about believing in the spirit of Christmas, when really, the spirit of Christmas is Christ Himself. There was no mention of the reason for the season. Yes, I talk to my grandson about Santa Claus some, but I make a big deal out of the book and figures that make up Christmas for me. The story of Jesus’ birth. Jonathan is learning about the characters – baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, angel, shepherds, and of course naming the animals. I want him to feel the love of God as he thinks about Christmas.