Pursuing Christ This Christmas
I wasn’t sure what God wanted me to say with this article. Don’t most Christians who celebrate Christmas pursue Christ during this time? But then I asked God what He meant.
We often “pursue” Christ in our decorations, family dinners, gifts, and even our social media posts, but our hearts are far from Him. He doesn’t care that you celebrate His birth on the 25th of December if your heart is far from Him throughout the year.
Ouch. But if we’re honest, God is right. Too often, we go all out from mid-November to New Year’s Day, talking about God’s goodness, writing gratitude lists, and creating memories for our social media pages, but the rest of the year, or once the day (and the show) is over, we’re back in the same place. A cold heart that won’t forgive. A mother too prideful to apologize for the pain she’s caused her children. A husband who puts his career before his family and will go right back to doing so after the holiday is over. The son who continues to dishonor his parents despite constant warnings from God. And the bitter matriarch who manipulates her family into doing things her way and refuses to create space for everyone’s wants and needs.
Well, I always say God knows how to check us even when we’re putting on a “show.” This isn’t about condemnation; it’s about conviction. To be honest, Advent is realized not just through the four weeks leading up to Christmas; it’s preparing for the arrival of the return of Christ the King, keeping our lamps filled with oil so we’re not caught slipping. If we treated Advent as a year-round disciple check-in to be sure we’re living out the Word, then when the holiday season comes, pursuing Christ for Christmas would feel natural. We wouldn’t be spending time on social media arguing back and forth about whether or not it’s a pagan holiday that should be celebrated.
We’d focus on making sure our homes are a place Christ can reside all year long, where our family and friends feel safe because they know we’re a tree bearing good fruit, not just placing one in the center of the living room floor for decoration.
So, what does this look like for us? How do we, as disciples, pursue Christ for Christmas in a way that truly honors Him and places Him at the center of our lives and not just our holiday?
Step Up Your Pursuit
Read 2 Chronicles 7:14-21 and ask God how to apply it to your life. So often, we’re posting about which artists people shouldn’t listen to and what celebrities we shouldn’t follow because of their religious beliefs or demonic content. But this passage of Scripture applies to those who know God. Maybe if we took inventory of our personal lives—where we have idols, where we’ve disobeyed and dishonored God—and repented instead of reposting, God could reveal our hearts to us. Make this Christmas about searching your soul more than searching for sales.
Spend increased time in worship and prayer.
This holiday season, set the tone by spending time in worship and prayer. Wake up every day and put on worship music that points to God, not your new season, and create a prayer list that involves areas that are on God’s heart, not just yours. We need to step our weight up when it comes to how we pursue God. While our prayer list isn’t invalid, what’s on God’s heart is bigger than your desire for a new promotion at work. This is why listening to worship songs that point to God puts things into perspective. Truly practice Matthew 6:33.
Give someone the gift of Christ.
While buying and giving gifts is nice, there’s nothing more valuable than giving Christ for Christmas. Ask God for ten people in your space this holiday season who need to know Christ. Ask for a strategy on how to approach each person. He may tell you to take one out for coffee and ask if you can pray for them. Another, He may tell you, has been backslidden due to church hurt, and He may lead you to share your own testimony and invite them to church. Another, He may tell you to invite them to your house for dinner and end the night praying for them. Follow His instructions closely—this may be the difference between someone seeing Christ in you or being reminded of why they don’t want a relationship with Him. No matter what God tells you about the person, listen and leave judgment out of the interaction.
Spend time serving instead of shopping.
While many people often serve during the holidays by joining church events to give away turkeys and gifts, ask God what He wants you and your family to do this year. Write down a list of ways you’ve always wanted to serve the less fortunate. Keep in mind that “less fortunate” doesn’t always refer to someone’s financial status. Some wealthy people wish they had a family like yours to spend the holidays with. Serve your way through this season and pray about who you can impact.
Experience the fruit of forgiveness by walking it out.
There are people you probably need to forgive, even if it’s yourself. Spend some time in God’s presence and ask Him who you need to forgive. This might be a good time to read The Bait of Satan by John Bevere and inquire of the Lord about your heart posture in this area. Most of us can’t even really enjoy the holidays because we have so much bitterness in our hearts. Lean into developing the Fruit of the Spirit and ask God to help you forgive and release people you’ve held hostage in your heart.
Matriarchs: Your family doesn’t owe you anything outside of honor and respect. Stop manipulating them into doing things your way because you didn’t live out your dreams the way you wanted. This isn’t about you making sure they fix the candied yams and macaroni and cheese exactly the way you want them to for the next fifty generations. This is about the sneaky and manipulative behavior that seeps into conversations about how children and grandchildren should be living to bring you pleasure, where you’ve only known pain. Your children and grandchildren aren’t pawns—they belong to God and have been loaned to you. Steward them well. Ask God to search your heart for places where you’ve been harboring resentment because you didn’t get to live out your dreams, whether because you had children too soon or married someone God didn’t ordain. Stop making your family pay for your poor decisions.
Fathers: You got the bonus, the promotion, and the corner office—but your children don’t know who you are. And just because you put a bunch of gifts under the tree to keep them from noticing your absence on Christmas morning doesn’t negate that God has a clear outline of instructions for how fathers should steward their children. Stop trying so hard to fit into the company clique when you have a crew of people at home waiting to spend time with you. It’s mind-blowing how we chase after things that may or may not be on God’s list for us, but ignore what He’s clearly placed on ours. While I teach women that men have the world on their shoulders and we need to create safe spaces for them, this doesn’t negate that you may need tough love this holiday season. Create a new rhythm for you and your family that includes Christ at the center, you being present, and them getting your undivided attention. I always say, be sure you’re creating the kind of legacy where, when your health is failing, your children will take care of you out of love and not obligation.
Listen, I know this article stepped on a lot of toes. It stepped on mine. It made me realize that while I desire to be married before the year is out—which is still possible—if I haven’t checked my heart posture during this holiday season and made sure I’ve been walking out the Word throughout the year, it’s pointless to go to God crying about what didn’t happen for me by the time the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Day. Let’s be sure we’re living a life that pleases God, pursues Christ relentlessly, and creates an environment that causes God to chase us down with His goodness. When we seek the Kingdom right, our personal prayer lists may become shorter.
Have you grabbed our holiday issue yet? The back cover features female athletes, and there’s two great articles inside for the athlete in your life. Grab it HERE!
