Christmas has come and gone! A sparkling season with lights, faces aglow,
wonderful presents and happy family times together for many, many people. Amidst the flurry and rush of activity, the
buying of presents, sending greetings, and Santa Clauses ho ho'ing all over,
trees glow prettily in different countries.
One evening after Christmas, I came across an article which
strongly rebuked Christmas trees stating that the Bible commands us not to cut
down a tree and decorate it. The
reference goes to Jeremiah 10. The
strong statements of the article shocked me and I wondered, "Are we being
blatantly disobedient by doing what we do?
We would be stubbornly rebellious if the Bible forbids us not to cut down a tree and decorate it and
we kept on doing it over the centuries.
On reading Jeremiah 10, however, I
got a whole different picture of what the Bible is really saying and how many
of us are interpreting it.
On quoting Jeremiah 10:2-5
“Do not
learn the ways of the nations
or be terrified by signs in the heavens,
though the nations are terrified by them.
3 For the practices of the peoples are worthless;
they cut a tree out of the forest,
and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel.
4 They adorn it with silver and gold;
they fasten it with hammer and nails
so it will not totter.
5 Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field,
their idols cannot speak;
they must be carried
because they cannot walk.
Do not fear them;
they can do no harm
nor can they do any good.”
or be terrified by signs in the heavens,
though the nations are terrified by them.
3 For the practices of the peoples are worthless;
they cut a tree out of the forest,
and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel.
4 They adorn it with silver and gold;
they fasten it with hammer and nails
so it will not totter.
5 Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field,
their idols cannot speak;
they must be carried
because they cannot walk.
Do not fear them;
they can do no harm
nor can they do any good.”
When we
look at this, it is very clearly talking about cutting a tree and carving it and making it into an idol, covered with silver and gold with the sole aim of worship. Obviously, no
one is carving a Christmas tree for worship.
The origin of
the Christmas tree has a myriad of stories. Some say Christian missionaries started the tradition as they were reaching out to a tribe who worshiped trees, and this made it easier for them. We do know that in early times, people regarded the evergreen tree as a
symbol of strength, health, and goodness and reminded them of the spring
days to come as they lived in freezing icy lands.
Germany is credited with
starting the Christmas tree tradition as we now know it in the 16th
century. As the story goes, Martin
Luther, the 16th-century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to an evergreen tree. One winter evening as he was walking home, in his mind composing a
sermon, he suddenly glanced up and was struck by the beauty of the glittering stars amidst the tall evergreen trees, so he eventually put a tree in his drawing room for his family, lighting the
branches with lighted
candles. Since then, the Christmas tree tradition stuck on.
When millions
of people all over the world are lighting up Christmas trees and decorating them,
we are clear that no one is worshiping those trees but just having a blessed time together, the tree is not really the focus, just adds beauty to the season!
If we have personal convictions
about Christmas trees, it is our personal choice as we cannot find a direct
command against a Christmas tree, so we should never enforce our personal opinions
on others. The best verse in that regard
is Romans 14:4-5, "Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own
master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to
make him stand. One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every
day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind."
Again, there are those who do
not celebrate Christmas at all saying, "We do not really know when Jesus was
born!" True, but Christ came into the world one night, whichever night through a human
birth and when He did, there was rejoicing and celebration, singing, in the Heavens and on Earth, and even
gifts were given by the Wise Men. If humans do not celebrate, we have a tendency to forget, so at least in celebrating, it revives our faith to stir us up.
Christmas is really a wonderful
opportunity to share of the Savior to the world, so if we get dogged determined to stick in miry clay lodged with stones of doctrines, we will just keep fighting
about doctrines among ourselves and never rise to reach the world with the Life
of Christ within us. We will never see
beyond and we will keep fighting, arguing, posting websites against each other,
trying to "expose" other Christians instead of letting God do what He
has to, and living our lives in the Power of His Presence and Love.
Now the New Year is around the corner, with a myriad of gloomy prophesies, (which we do not scorn, but accept in humility) we can trust our Lord that in His presence, great things happen. If we seek His presence, the destiny of nations can change. Let us rise this New Year to enable Christ's
Holy Spirit live within to accomplish greater things in the New Year and see even world change as every believer seeks His Presence. In His presence, miracles happen!
Rita Farhat Kurian
Email Us For Prayer!
You can send E-mail for prayer requests and also urgent prayer and will pass this on to the prayer group in Siliguri of Elder Richard Tamang's so do send in your prayer requests! We will all pray!
Email: ritafarhatkurian@gmail.com
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