Oh Christmas Tree!

The Christmas Tree means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. I know, for example, that some Christians deliberately choose not to put up a Christmas tree due to it’s connections to pagan rituals. For these people, the Christmas Tree doesn’t have anything to do with Jesus, so they don’t want to have anything to do with a Christmas Tree. For other people, the Christmas Tree is precisely a reminder of Jesus. Just as important a fixture as the nativity scene on the mantel. For others, the Christmas Tree is primarily a reminder of family and the importance of staying connected to the people we love. It’s a nice family tradition.

The Christmas Tree means radically different things to different people. In a sense, it’s what you make of it. I like having a tree in the house. It smells nice. It looks pretty with lights on it and it has fun decorations on it. Some of those decorations are reminders of my family, some are reminders of Jesus, and some just look cool. Sometimes I think about Jesus when I look at the tree, but I think that’s in part because…it’s Christmas.

Anyway, I was thinking about this, and I realized that church has this same characteristic: it’s what you make of it. For some, it’s a family tradition. You do it cause that’s what you do. What’s the point in asking why? For some people, I think church is even a place where you go to be seen-it might be a place to do some networking. For some people, it’s about Jesus. It’s about wanting to meet with him, be changed by him, and worship him with other people who love him. For most of us it's probably been all of these things in different season, or weeks, in our lives. At times I think church is more about who you are or what you do than where you go on Sunday mornings…

There may be a sense of safety in taking church for granted, but I think there’s value in asking why we do church. So… Do you go to church? Why? Or, how do you “do” church? What’s your take on the Christmas tree?

By the way- I'm going to be moving over to a different blog. It's jaronkamin.wordpress.com
Hope to see you there!