The battle to keep Christ in Christmas has been raging for, well probably ever since there was Christmas. But within my lifetime, it certainly has heated up in the last few decades and I applaud those who have made pins like “You can tell me Merry Christmas” or written to retailers who won’t allow employees to tell customers Merry Christmas and so on. But as I reflect on this issue, a nagging question keeps inching its way out of the smoke of battle.

Is Christmas really about keeping Christ in the celebration or is it more about His disciples understanding their lives In Christ and living like it? In other words do we, His followers, live like our very being is kept in Christ?

This Christmas season I would like to explore this question and ramifications of the answer because I think it will change the way I celebrate this wonderful holiday. And, more importantly change the way I live from day to day.

Before we proceed with discovering all that encompasses being “In Christ,” I want you to understand that I deeply applaud efforts to “keep Christ in Christmas.” I believe these efforts have had a positive effect as I hear more Christmas carols being played over loud speakers and sales clerks don’t cringe when I wish them a “Merry Christmas”. I’ve even had a few respond in kind. This is good and efforts to remind our ever spiraling world of the Christ in the Christmas must continue.

Our exploration over these next few weeks is not meant to disparage any “Keep Christ in Christmas” campaign, but rather to discover the other side of the coin, if you get my meaning. I think we are only addressing one variable of the secularization of Christmas if we do not address living as though we are in Christ, which we are if we are a born-again disciple of Jesus the Christ.

Keep in mind that the Bible has much more to say about who we are in Christ and what we should do with those facts than it says anything about keeping Christ in any holiday. In fact there are more than 75 exact references of the phrase, “in Christ” in our Bible. And for the Apostle Paul, explaining the importance of who we are in Christ and what we are in Christ and why we are in Christ was a driving force in his epistles.

I’ve been overwhelmed with the small grasp I’ve realized in understanding the mystery of being in Christ and, trust me; we are only going to scratch the surface of this amazing truth!

I hope you will join me.