I love the Kim Possible Christmas special. In it, Kim (a teenage spy/secret agent/kick-butt heroine) is spending Christmas with her family when her arch nemesis, Dr. Drakken (an evil, blue scientist) creates the perfect plan to take over the world, and consequently must be stopped. But Kim's best friend and sidekick, Ron Stoppable, decides to let Kim spend Christmas with her family and goes to take on Dr. D. alone (well, alone unless you count his talking naked mole rat.) To make a long-ish story shorter, Ron and Dr. Drakken end up getting stranded in the North Pole and Kim and her family go to save them.
But when they arrive, instead of finding them fighting, they find them bonding over their mutual sadness that their favourite show (a warm-hearted kiddie special called The Six Tasks of Snowman Hank) has been cancelled. Dr. Drakken, Ron, Kim and Dr. Drakken's evil sidekick, Shego, all decide to postpone hating and fighting each other until after the holidays in honour of the spirit of Snowman Hank. The show ends with the entire cast dancing with woodland animals, cheery children and Hank himself, singing the Snowman Hank theme song. It's this song that really got me thinking:
"It's not the turkey and the stuffing or the gifts around the tree. It's a warm and fuzzy feeling that begins with you and me. So put away those petty problems and embrace your fellow man and join the celebration all across this wonderful land!"
So I love the Kim Possible Christmas special, yes. But it's also kind of sad. It is a pure representation of what people without Christ find their hope in at Christmas - a warm and fuzzy feeling. The joy you get from family. The memories. The gifts. My mom mentioned to me a few nights ago that when she was a kid (before she was a Christian) Christmas was the closest she ever got to the experience of salvation. She explained: Before she was saved, she didn't understand eternal hope. She only understood temporal hope, and she knew that at Christmas all was right. Everyone was happier and kinder. She had "a warm and fuzzy feeling." But when she was saved, it became apparent what a fleeting time Christmas is and how hope doesn't come from families, memories or a feeling (though all of those things can be nice). Hope comes from Christ. At Christmas. At Easter. At Thanksgiving - and every time of the year.
So put your hope in Christ alone. Rest in His eternal sovereignty, glory and beauty. For that is the reason to celebrate Christmas.