No matter what your religious background is, you should be at least a little outraged at the message that a child’s presents somehow correlate with their moral behaviour. As others have pointed out, the presents that children receive mostly reflect the relative wealth of their parents, not whether they’re on some list of morally superior children.

Each of these individuals was likely hard-working and well-educated. They were probably personable and sincere. If you had lunch with one of them, you would probably be impressed with their charm and conclude they were “good people.” So, how did things go so terribly wrong?

Nobody’s watching. Surely, no one will notice. You’ve heard God’s warnings, but you decide to do it anyway. It’s compromise. You’re cutting a corner. You’ve stepped over the line. And then you wait for God’s consequences. Only they don’t come. Whew, you got away with it! Or did you? In those moments, we often misinterpret sin’s consequences and God’s heart toward us.

I would have said that I believed in Jesus long before I actually did. I believed in Him like I believed in Napoleon. In other words, I didn’t completely reject His existence. But surely there’s more to it than that.

Have you ever heard people arguing about whether “Die Hard” is a Christmas movie or not? Both sides dig in with their positions and disagree passionately, even though they usually agree that it’s a great movie. The debate never seems productive. We wish they’d just stop. I think it’s tempting to see various religions that way. They all seem to agree on things like kindness, honesty, and self-control. Do the other things really matter?

Many people have made up their minds about Christianity without ever having actually read any of the Bible. Other people have been exposed to bits and pieces but made their own assumptions about how it all fits together. While no one verse can adequately explain all the intricacies of a book that numbers more than a thousand pages, most Christians agree that John 3:16 summarizes the heart of its message.

“If there is a God, surely, He’ll just forgive everyone. The idea of judgment is just religion trying to scare people.” Ever heard that? Ever thought it yourself? It seems reasonable, right?  Or does it?

I’ve had people express to me the feeling that they could never be forgiven. As a result, they can’t forgive themselves, and their past continues to haunt them. There’s hope in the Bible but it comes as we confront an even greater sin that most people aren’t even conscious of.

When people say that they think they’ll go to heaven because they’re a good person, not only do they think they can define what good is, but they assume they know how good is good enough.

There’s a lot about Christmas that you can skip, but what if Jesus skipped Christmas? How would it have been any different if Jesus hadn’t come into this world and been born as a child? Asking that “what if” helps us to see what we need to keep central about our celebration of Christmas.