Symbols of Christmas

The Tree, The Wreath, The Lights, & The Gifts

I love everything associated with Christmas. It is an old crumudgeon that cannot see the joy of Christmas.

Now, you can take the Christmas tree, the wreath, the lights, and the gifts and turn them to symbols of ungodliness, greed, and selfishness, but I refuse to do that.

In the tree, the wreath, the lights, and the gifts, I see what God has done for me, and if you want your children and grandchildren to know the real meaning of Christmas, I am about to reveal to you what you must do to teach them the real meaning.

1. THE TREE.

There is nothing that says Christmas more than the Christmas tree.

There is nothing prettier than a beautifully decorated Christmas tree with all kinds of ornaments and decorations especially if you keep the proper meaning of Christmas in the foreground.

When I think of the Christmas tree, I think of the role the tree has played in our eternal life.

In the Garden of Eden, God had two special trees-the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge.

Genesis 2:9 “And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”

The Tree of Life afforded Adam and eve the opportunity to live forever as long as they were obedient to God and as long as they did not know sin.

The Tree of Knowledge was placed in the Garden to test Adam’s and Eve’s obedience and free will.

People want to question why God would put the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden. There is a simple reason.

You cannot obey the greatest commandment if you do not have a choice. What is the greatest commandment?

Matthew 22:36–37 “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”

How could God know if you kept the greatest the commandment if He did not give you a choice of whether or not to obey Him? God does not want forced obedience. He wants you to choose to obey and love Him.

As long as Adam and Eve obeyed God by avoiding the Tree of Knowledge, they had access to the Tree of Life.

Adam and Eve, however, made the choice to disobey God. As a result, access to the Tree of Life was denied meaning Adam and Eve would die.

Genesis 3:24 “So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”

God, however, wanted mankind to live forever with Him, but God could not overlook Adam’s and Eve’s disobedience.

God so wanted for mankind to have eternal life that He stepped out of Heaven to be born of woman in Bethlehem to be laid in a manger.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

God sent His Son to earth to restore our access to the Tree of Life. To restore that access, Jesus had to be born so He could die on another tree, the Cross of Calvary.

It is through that tree that eternal life is made possible.

Now, when you put up your Christmas tree, if you want your children or grandchildren to understand the real meaning of Christmas, explain to them the true meaning of the tree.

2. THE WREATH.

To my knowledge, all Christmas wreaths are circular.

From history, did you know that all scholars and great thinkers of the dark ages and middle ages concluded that the circle was the perfect shape with no beginning and no ending.

Wedding rings are circular indicating and symbolizing the perpetual union between husband and wife. In much the same way, the wreath symbolizes the eternality of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 1:8 “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”

Jesus Christ, like the circle has no beginning, and He has no ending. He is the eternal Son of God.

It is Jesus Christ that makes eternal life a reality. It is through Him. He is the beginning. He is the ending.

John 1:1–3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

Jesus Christ, like the never-ending circle, has always been and will always be. He is the eternal Word of God.

He is the Creator, He is Man, and He is God. He was dead but lives now forevermore.

When hanging your Christmas wreaths, if you want your children to understand the real meaning of Christmas, explain how the wreath symbolize the eternal nature of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

3. THE LIGHTS.

MAN, THERE IS NO TELLING HOW MUCH MONEY IN GAS THAT I SPEND EACH YEAR LOOKING FOR CHRISTMAS LIGHTS.

I love them. This year, alone, I have been all over Dyer County, Discovery Park in Union City, and The Lights of the Delta in Blytheville, Arkansas. The more the merrier and the brighter and more colorful the better.

Now, I know you are asking what in the world do Christmas lights have to do with the real meaning of Christmas.

The lights of Christmas symbolize the real light of the world, Jesus Christ.

John 1:4–5 “In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”

It is Jesus Christ who lights up a dark world.

It is the light of Jesus Christ that keeps evil subdued. Every good thing you do as a Christian is because of the light of God in your life.

Romans 3:10–11 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.”

As a Christian, you are to let the light of Christ shine brightly in a dark world.

Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

It is the light of Christ in your life that allows you to glorify God on this earth.

It is the light of Jesus Christ that will make heaven shine forever. If you allow just a little bit of that light show, you will never be in darkness.

The first creative act of Jesus Christ was an offshoot of His brilliant light.

Genesis 1:3–4 “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.”

When you go look at Christmas lights, if you want your children and grandchildren to know the real meaning of Christmas, explain to them that Christmas lights symbolize the light that Jesus Christ is in this world.

4. THE GIFTS.

Now, old sticks-in-the mud and tightwads will tell you that Christmas is not about gifts. Well, dear friend, the greatest and most expensive ever given was given by God when He gave Jesus to mankind on that first Christmas.

The entire Christmas narrative is built upon giving and receiving gifts.

The Wise Men brought the most expensive of gifts to the Baby Jesus, and Joseph and Mary accepted those gifts.

Dear friend, Christmas is a time of sharing and receiving.

Did you know, dear friend, that your salvation is a gift? Do you know what that gift cost?

Do you know what the hardest thing for God to do is? To forgive sins.

Why? Because God is holy.

To forgive sins, God had established in His Word what was required.

Hebrews 9:22 “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”

To be forgiven of sins required blood to be shed; yet no one born of a human father could do what was required; so, God had to give Jesus to the world.

The New Testament is full of verses explaining God’s gift to mankind.

Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

2 Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

I think those verses will suffice.

God’s giving makes salvation possible, but like all gifts, the contents inside the present are not yours until you receive the gift and open it.

The cost of God’s gift to us was unimaginable.

Romans 8:32 “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”

The next time you exchange gifts, if you want your children and grandchildren to know the real meaning of Christmas, tell them that giving and receiving gifts symbolizes what God gave us and what God wants us to receive.

Conclusion:

You can choose to embrace the pagan symbolism attached to the tree, the wreath, and the lights, and you can complain about how greedy and commercialized Christmas has become because of the prices of the gifts, but I will not.

What we should do is take the symbols of Christmas and explain to our children and grandchildren the true meaning of Christmas, and maybe true Christmases will return.

Christmas is a remarkable show of what God has done for us, what God has given us, but what God has given you does not matter if you do not receive the gift.

One of the saddest events in American history occurred on December 14, 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut as a deranged gunman killed 26 innocent elementary students.

One of stark images that came from that was all the Christmas gifts that were going to go unopened. Those babies did not get to open the present that parents and grandparents had taken the time to get them.

Dear friend, if you are lost, you have a valuable gift that needs to be opened. It required the unthinkable for God to give you the gift of salvation, but if you do not receive that gift and open it, you will for an eternity regret your choice.

Come to Jesus today and receive what God wants to give you. It is a decision you will never regret.