I Can’t Believe Christmas Is Over

Today is the day after New Year’s Day. It’s the day at our house that we try to take Christmas decorations down. That means that what took weeks to set up, now goes into boxes until next year. It means that I’m looking for a warm day to take outside lights down, and all three of our trees will have decorations taken off and wrapped so trees can be placed in the attic. This year I’ve had a revelation that I want to share with everyone: no matter what the calendar says, we’re always one day closer to the next Christmas.

No matter how excited we get at Christmas – no matter how hard we work to prepare for Christmas – the most important part of Christmas is the reality behind it: the salvation Jesus brought into our world and our hope for His return. Scripture repeats over and over again about watching, waiting and longing for Christ’s second coming. Paul says in Philippians 3:15-21, “mind[s] set on earthly things” – with a lifestyle shaped by hope in Jesus’ return: “Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

The reality that our “citizenship is in heaven” changes everything. We no longer have to be disappointed when Christmas is over. We can look forward to celebrating a year from now. In our “sin-filled” world we can know that Jesus has come to save us, and that one day He will come again. Even now that Christmas is over, we can know that one day we will have “citizenship in heaven.” We can know today that we are one day closer to Jesus’ return.

Prayer: Father, thank you for the hope we can have in Jesus and in His return. When the world gets us down, remind us that we need to lift our eyes to You. Amen.

Philippians 3:20 – “Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Author: The Rev. Tommy Herndon
Image: Salah Ait Mokhdar, courtesy of Unsplash