There is a song by my favorite Christian band, and one of the lines says, "Christmas is not a feeling".
When I heard that this year, I stopped for a moment and thought about how powerful that statement is.
I recounted the times I've said "It just doesn't feel like Christmas", or "I'm in a Christmas mood".
There is absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying Christmas. After all, it is meant to be a celebration. But, we should never equate all of Christmas with a feeling we get.
Whether it feels like Christmas or not, the light of the world still came and still offers salvation to this world.
Spending time with family, watching Christmas movies with hot cocoa, eating good food, and opening presents are all wonderful things, but Christmas would still be Christmas without them.
Far too often we (myself included) think these things are what make Christmas. Without them it just wouldn't feel like Christmas.
Something I've learned in my walk with God, is that our emotions are not truth. We cannot take how we feel and validate them as truth. An example of this is the feeling of fear (I'm not talking about Godly fear). For the Christian, fear is never true. the Bible tells us over and over to not fear.
It is very easy to base truth off of what we feel rather than what God's word says. We often do this with Christmas.
The truth is, the son of God clothed himself in flesh and stepped into this world. He became God in the flesh. He was born to die and rise again. The long awaited Messiah has come. This is true and this can be celebrated whether you have family around or not. This can be celebrated whether there are presents and cookies or nothing at all.
The family that is struggling can celebrate Christmas just as much as the family who has much.
Christmas is not a feeling but rather a day to celebrate the life of the son of God. Whatever that looks like for you and your family, remember it is all about Jesus.