Principal's Ponderings

Five Weeks until Christmas Day

As we step into the Christmas season, the world often tells us Christmas is a hurried rush. It is the official packing of 25 days with shopping, decorating, feasting and endless to-do lists. However, for us as Christians, Christmas is so much more and should not be limited to December 1st until December 25th. It is a celebration of the single most transformative moment in history, the birth of Jesus Christ.

Think about this: the King of Kings did not arrive in a royal palace with fanfare and splendour, like we see in coronation days. He was born in a humble stable, laid in a feeding trough, surrounded by the lowly animals of the earth. It was no mistake. Imagine today if someone could not be born in a hospital and instead was nursed into the world in the back of a dark alley way, in the back streets of a city town. Jesus came in meekness to demonstrate a radical new way of living, one founded not in power and status, but in love, humility, and restoration. Philippians 2:6-8 reminds us, “Though he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”

Christmas reminds us that God sent His Son not to condemn the world but to save it (John 3:17). He came to bring hope to the hopeless, peace to the restless, and grace to the undeserving. This is a truth that cannot be confined to 25 fleeting days in December each year. It is an eternal truth that changes everything, our perspective, our priorities and our purpose.

The hustle and consumerism surrounding Christmas often miss this. While the world, and many people, might reduce Christmas to gifts under the tree and endless parties, Jesus calls us to pause, reflect and focus on the extraordinary gift of His love. Billy Graham once said, “The very purpose of Christ coming into the world was that He might offer up His life as a sacrifice for the sins of men. He came to die. This is the heart of Christmas.”

Christmas is about a baby who did not stay a baby. That child grew into the Saviour of the world, whose life and death would offer us the ultimate gift, eternal life and reconciliation with God. And that gift is one we can live in every single day, not just in December.

This season DCS, let us embrace the hope of Christmas. Let us pause from the busyness to reflect on the miracle of God stepping into our broken world. Let us celebrate not just with our families and churches but in the quiet of our hearts, thanking God for the gift of His Son. Let us also share the love and hope of Jesus with others in simple acts of kindness, generosity, and grace.

Isaiah 9:6 declared, many years before Jesus was actually born, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

This is the heart of Christmas; hope for the weary, peace for the troubled, and joy for the broken hearted. Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us, and that truth is worth celebrating every day of the year.

My prayer for each of you this year, is that you do not run or hide from Christmas. That you do not wish it to just happen, or be confined to only December (now you know why I make sure our Christmas tree is up early!). Just maybe we need to extend the Christmas season so it is not the usual rushed season confined to a few rushed weeks. This year, visit a church or invite a family to come and join with you and celebrate Jesus. Jesus, who came to change our world. My hope is that we can truly celebrate Jesus this season! 

Shalom, shalom.

Chad Smit | Principal