For to us a Child shall be born, to us a Son shall be given;
And the government shall be upon His shoulder,
And His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

There shall be no end to the increase of His government and of peace,
[He shall rule] on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From that time forward and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

 Isaiah 9: 6,7 AMP

There is a term used in legal circles, namely “the spirit of the law” which speaks to the   the aim or purpose of a law when it was written, rather than the letter of the law.  For example, a law may state that it’s illegal to consume alcohol on the street.  The intention of the law is to stop people from getting intoxicated in public places and  causing trouble to innocent pedestrians.  Someone could interpret it by the letter of the law, put a wooden crate on the street, stand on it whilst drinking and then argue that he is not breaking the letter of the law, because he is not standing on the street.

This may be true, but the offender is clearly in breach of the spirit of the law and should he be brought before a judge, he would most likely pay the penalty for breaking the law, even though he hadn’t technically broken the law.

In the same way we can get caught up in the “letter of the law” for want of a better way to describe celebrating Christmas.  Yes, Jesus didn’t mention or preached Christmas, and yes, Jesus wasn’t born on the 25th of December and yes, Christmas trees may or may not have pagan roots, as Christmas Day itself may or may not have pagan roots, depending on which source you look at.  It’s also true that some people make it about the gifts, the food, drinking in excess and celebrating Santa more than Jesus.  

However, there’s the spirit of Christmas…the aim and purpose for the birth of a Son that transcends the letter of the law.  Think about this for a second…Abba Father could have send a host of warrior angels, with Jesus leading them on a white horse, in a show of power and might, to subdue the enemy and force the people to follow Him.  Instead, He comes in the most innocent, vulnerable and non-threatening way imaginable.  A babe.  Have you ever wondered why?  I, for one, have never been able to resist the charm of a baby.  They awaken in me the overpowering desire to nurture and protect them.  The smile and cooing of a baby can melt the most hardened of hearts.  That’s what Jesus came to do…to melt the hardest of hearts.

This year I have noticed a chasm open in the body of Christ, more than ever before.  It has indeed been (and still is) brother against brother.  So here we are, at Christmas and we can decide whether we are going to partner with the spirit of division, which comes from elevating the love of law or whether we are going to submit ourselves to the spirit of Christmas, which elevates the law of love.  Each one of us is responsible for our own conscience before God, whether we have a tree or not, celebrate or not and how we choose to do it.  Jesus left us no directive for celebrating Christmas, but He gave us Holy Spirit to guide our steps and inform our choices.  We do not have to partner with that which brings more disunity, more condemnation, and more pain when the spirit in which Jesus came was to bring peace, love, hope and comfort to a dying world.

This Christmas we can embody that spirit by offering hope to a hopeless world, by celebrating Jesus as the Prince of Peace, the Wonderful Councillor, the Mighty God and the Everlasting Father.  May the peace of the Lord, which transcends all understanding, guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  May you experience the joy of the Lord, and be filled with hope as we look to Jesus to accomplish what only He can do.  Let’s set our hearts on celebrating that.

I wish you a very blessed, joyous and festive Christmas, in Jesus’ name.