…but whatever you do, don’t just tolerate Him!
A lot of Australians tolerate Jesus Christ. Christmas has mostly become a secular holiday. Yet because of its overt connection with Christ, people may tolerate some mention of Him, or perhaps carols that have words about Him,… but not too much! Carol singing crowds can get pretty “tetchy” if anyone insists on saying too much about Jesus.
The reason for this is that the truth about Jesus Christ completely intrudes into our lives. It insists that He came into the world to save us from our sin, and therefore that we are sinners; it insists that we can only be saved and fulfilled by Him, through grace, therefore that we can’t be “self-made” people; it insists that Jesus is Lord forever, and therefore must be the Lord over every part of our lives.
No human being likes that truth!
To acknowledge the truth about the baby Jesus born at Christmas is to acknowledge that we must either accept and submit to Him as the Saviour and Lord of our lives, or reject Him totally. We can’t just tolerate Him – i.e., say “He’s ok”, yet hold Him at “arms-length”, and insist that He doesn’t bother us too much.
It would be more honest to reject Jesus completely. And the reality-shock might also bring us closer to realising the folly of trying to live without the true Jesus, so that we might turn and embrace Him as our Lord and Saviour.
Grace and peace, Jonathan.