Have you ever seen the movie “A Christmas Story?” The whole plot centers on the material expectations of little Ralphie. The only thing he wants for Christmas is an Official Red Ryder 200-shot Range Model Air Rifle. But he has a big problem – his mother is afraid that he’ll put his eye out. Ralphie sweats it big-time until he an idea hits him – “if Mom won’t say ‘yes,’ maybe Santa will.”
Even though Ralphie temporarily goes down the chute, it all works out in the end. He gets his wish and the Official Red Ryder 200-shot Range Model Air Rifle shows up on Christmas morning, courtesy of his father. Unfortunately, real life doesn’t always turn out that way. Sometimes, you don’t get what you really do want. Or you get a bunch of stuff you really don’t want. And that can leave you feeling a little bit empty about the whole thing.

In my favorite Christmas movie It’s a Wonderful Life (which was on tv last night), after his life totally falls apart on Christmas Eve, what’s the lesson that George Bailey finally learns? Do you remember the closing scene? As the entire town gathers around his Christmas tree, younger brother Harry reminds him that “the man who has friends, has everything.” The relational expectation is one of the reasons so many people travel at Christmas. Where are they going? Home … to be with family and friends. It’s why Christmas is so painful after a death in the family, or a divorce. How about it? Do you have any relational expectations of Christmas?

Now, let me make it clear that I’m not trying to imply that it’s bad or wrong to have emotional, material or relational expectations. Frankly, I hope that the warm fuzzies of the Christmas spirit bring tears to your eyes. I hope you get (and give) lots of great presents. And I sincerely hope that your relationships are as smooth as silk over the next few weeks. But my concern is that we not make those our only expectations or even our primary expectations. Here’s why I say that: if Christmas is only about emotions, material goods, and relationships, then you have to be extremely lucky in order to really appreciate the season. Everything has to line up just right. You have to see the right movies, hear the right songs, drop the right hints to get the right presents, hope that everyone is in the right mood, hope the weather doesn’t mess up your travel plans. And it’s almost impossible to manufacture those conditions. If you luck out, you’ll have a good Christmas. If not, well, there’s always next year.

Take away all of the warm fuzzies, all of the presents, all of the moments when families and friends come together, and the true significance of Christmas doesn’t change. Here it is in a nutshell: God takes on flesh and comes to Earth in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, lives the perfect and sinless life that you and I cannot live, dies on a cross to pay the penalty for sin – a penalty that you and I couldn’t pay in all of eternity – and rises from the dead three days later, so that you and I can have eternal life.
Christmas is about God coming to save you and me.

So, what if, instead of focusing exclusively on the emotions, materials and relationships, we made Christmas a time where we invited God to come into our lives in a fresh, new way? What if those of us who’ve known Him for a while said something like, “God, you’ve been a part of my life, and it’s been good, but I need you to come and save me, not from eternal punishment anymore, but from the self-destructive patterns I’m in.” Or God, “I just need to be consoled again, comforted again, reminded again of just how much you love me. I want that to be a focus of this Christmas.”

I’m convinced that Christmas would be a lot different if those of us who knew God approached it in that way.