Why the 'war on Christmas' was defeated two thousand years ago

It's more than 2,000 years after the first Christmas — I won't give you the exact number because historians argue and debate about it, and they'd be out of work if I let the cat out of the bag.

Anyway, if you're worried about the "war on Christmas," don't be.

The real "war on Christmas" was fought and defeated 2,000 years ago.

Our modern culture warriors and commentators mark every battle in the "war on Christmas" as if our very lives are on the line. Do you say "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays"? Are the Starbucks holiday cups seasonal enough? How many times is Jesus mentioned on the radio?

But in a greater sense, what Christmas represents is an eternal battle and it doesn't depend on how many people go through the trouble of setting up lights on their houses, or how many cards you send in the mail.

As every saccharine sweet TV special announces, the real reason for the season isn't really gilded gifts or brightly lit Christmas trees, it is rather a celebration of the birth of Christ, an eternal gift sent to bridge the divide between man and God.

Because of this, the "war of Christmas" is being fought every day, and the battlefield is in every soul of every believer.

And this is not to say that those accoutrements of the holidays are unimportant. They are very important. They themselves are an outward expression of an inward disposition — they are how we show that we are celebrating and honoring what God has done for us. But too many cling to the empty symbols while abandoning the more difficult substantive truth and obligation underlying those material trinkets.

The war is not won by an overabundance of Christmas lights purchased from the local Big Lots. Every battle is fought when every individual on a daily basis chooses to manifest the love and kindness God has first shown us. The battle is lost when we turn away from Him and instead express cruelty and selfishness to each other.

Whether we give in to sin, or give in to God.

The freedom to chose God, the opportunity to walk in grace and rob death of its sting, that war was won two thousand years ago on a lonely cross.

Maybe we if each of us celebrated that victory more in our individual lives, instead of castigating each other for minor cultural offenses, we wouldn't have to worry about wars on Christmas.

That said, I'd like to express my great gratitude to every one of our readers and followers. Have a merry Christmas and a happy new year!