We passed a billboard while in the car last week, and my daughter, Jessica, commented about what it said.  It read: “I miss hearing you say ‘Merry Christmas’”, and it was presented as a note from Jesus.  Jessica asked me if Jesus really said that.  I told her that, indeed, he had not.  The sentiment behind the message was honorable.  We need to be unashamed to share our belief in Jesus as God in the flesh.  Other people’s right to their faith doesn’t preclude us from expressing ours.

This came to my heart today because I was in a discussion group this moring and Chris Drombetta, the worship leader at Old North Church, asked us what we felt about the same billboard. The common sentiment was that we need to be careful about how we present Jesus to the world.  What if Jesus really doesn’t think that way?  What if Jesus sees the idea of Christmas as tarnished out of recognition by consumerism and wants to create a new way to celebrate his coming to earth?  I’m not suggesting that he is; I’m stating that I don’t know.  (By the way, God didn’t institute Christmas as a holiday in the first place; people did.)

Please don’t get me wrong.  We are big fans of the Christmas season in our home.  What is at stake here is the absolute, consistent and determined effort of God’s people to separate our desires from His, to be as clear as we can about what Jesus said and what we are saying.

To presume to put words into Jesus’ mouth is something I’m not willing to do.  So, I’ll stick to quoting Jesus on the things he actually said and let the Spirit of God elaborate as he wishes.