Friends, The Christmas season is upon us, and Jesus is as near – or far away – as we want Him.  See the column below.  Also, the latest Finding Genius podcast where I’m a guest is available at this link: Analyzing The Origins Of Biblical Christian Ethics: Bob Walters. That, btw, is host Rich Jacobs' title, not mine! And it’s more interesting than it sounds.  Honest.  We recorded it 11-17-23. Blessings! Bob

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Spirituality Column #889

November 28, 2023

Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary

The Lord is Near, Part 1

By Bob Walters

“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” – Psalms 145:18

Christmas has a better public relations department than Easter because it is easier to ignore the truth at Christmas.  Easter is pretty serious; Christmas is fun.

At Easter, Pilate begged Jesus, “What is truth?”  in an impossible life-or-death trial. At Christmas, a baby in a manger is the king of heaven and earth, and anything is possible. So, if Jesus is closer when we have the truth, when is Jesus closest? 

When do we have the real truth?  Christmas? Easter? In church on Sundays?

This might be something to ponder as we wade into the cheerful and giving traditions of our modern, weeks long Christmas celebration.  Whether we approach Christmas in the secular spirit of the season or in the Holy Spirit of Almighty God, should we really worry about truth when everyone is having such a great time?

Despite gargantuan societal efforts to profane Christmas into a meaningless winter holiday while retaining all the faux joy and irreverent trappings of earthly appetites, Christmas hangs in there, and Jesus hangs in there with it.  The world wants the party without the precepts, the holiday without the holy, and the gifts without God.

We harken the lucre of St. Nick, and teach children the truth of a Christmas list.

We also remove Jesus from the school Christmas, er, “Holiday” pageant, sue the town council for that nativity scene on the square, and formulate Christmas, er, “Holiday” inclusivity with blow-up yard Santas, Snoopys, chimneys, and candy canes.

Let’s have fun, our culture insists, and not get into all that buzz-killing Jesus stuff.

But there are those of us who smile in rebellion while bidding strangers a sincere and loving “Merry Christmas.” We live life in the heartfelt, constant love of that swaddled baby in a manager who grew up to teach humanity who we all truly are, and how close He truly is … or at least, how close he can – and wants – to be to every human life.

Jesus loves each of us enough to give each of us a choice.  Just like John 3:16 says Jesus came to save all mankind, Jesus understands it is love in the human heart that will make the choice to follow truth.  Many people say, “I have my own truth, thank you,” and “Hey Jesus, you can’t prove you are the truth!” Never mind they cannot prove their own shallow worldly truth; never mind they refuse a restored relationship with God.

Thankfully … Christmas still puts it all out there; the PR, I mean: the Bible stories, the Gospel witness, miracles of love and healing relationships (see: Hallmark Channel), presents, churches in full bloom exhorting the holy truth (we hope) of a holy God, holy savior, and Holy Spirit seeking closeness with a population wholly incapable of saving itself yet striving to be a little nicer in the general but unnamed “spirit of the holiday.”

And which “spirit” is that?  Well, it is the Holy Spirit seeking the loving heart of each of us.  And the truth is, Jesus is always there, always near, always dismayed by humanity’s depravity, and always moved by sincere faith in Him as the Son of God, Son of Man, forgiver of sins, restorer of humanity, personal savior, and trusted friend.

The Lord is as near to each of us as we want, allow, or ask Him to be. A gracious Lord, Jesus doesn’t typically just “barge” in.  He gives us space, gives us choice, gives us time, allows our seeking elsewhere, and always welcomes us home.  And while Easter is the real lesson in salvation, Christmas indeed is the festival season of hope when it is most timely to invite a new, divine friend into our home, life, spirit, and trust.

That is the truth of Jesus, and the opportunity of Christmas.  Call out His name.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) spent years in public relations; more next week.