Let’s expand our blog offerings here on the 98.7 The Fox website. Why should Scott have all the “fun?” 

And perfect for this time of year, let’s introduce our friend George Churchgoer. For those looking for inspirational messages, perhaps George has some thoughts to help and especially for people of faith. Christian yes, but maybe ANY faith. George, take it away…

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Once upon a time plain old fashioned common sense still counted for something.

You could navigate your way through the travails of life with simple common sense and probably get things right.

Oh, those were the days…

Today we have social media outlets filled with chatter. And fake news which is truly fake, made up accounts designed to confuse or stir up trouble. And shouting talking heads who are more interested in “winning” the argument rather than coming up with real solutions.

Common sense has taken a backseat in modern society. Ideology is apparently far more important.

And then COVID twisted us in so many other different ways, with more of the same for the future. 

With Advent underway and the actual countdown to Christmas this week (not the shopping countdown, that started back in July or something,) we often hear a familiar slogan this time of year…

Jesus is the reason for the season. You see it on church signs, on posters, everywhere. 

You can’t dispute that, right? It’s obvious. It’s common sense.

Do some web searching and you’ll find a ton of items to buy (it IS the holiday season, after all) that are labeled with the famous phrase. Does everything have a price tag?

But WAIT – there are people out there ready to argue that this simple truth is WRONG.

Seriously? Yes, seriously.

Again, do some web searching and you’ll find their arguments.

Now, some are a bit stretched. One minister (yes, a minister) argues that actually YOU are the reason for the season. Jesus came into the world not for His benefit but for yours. His birth is for the saving of you and me. 

Wellllll, OK. I suppose. 

Then there’s the columnist from California who wrote an “interesting” piece two years ago with the title “Jesus may be your reason for the season, but he’s not mine.”

Really? Yeah, really.

Her argument was, again, “interesting.” She doesn’t state it but we’ll assume the writer is an atheist. In her column Jesus is labeled as “amongst the most dynamic, articulate speakers of all time.” 

Yep, just a great talker, nothing more. Those miracles? Just fables. Easter Sunday is an event for bunnies.

She further makes her case by stating some “facts.” First is the idea that Christ was never born on December 25. The Christmas story isn’t right, the Roman census would never have happened then, and other items don’t fit a birth in late December.

It’s well known that the early Christian Church leaders chose a pagan holiday date around December 25 and linked it with the birth of Jesus. We have truly no idea on the date He was actually born – Mary and Joseph didn’t keep records and send cards to their friends about the big arrival. His birth announcement never made the Jerusalem Times. 

No one has ever known the exact date. And because of this, Jesus CAN’T be the reason for the season. What, He wasn’t born at all?

And that Christmas tree? Yep, another pagan symbol.  The early Christians apparently just stole everything which further tarnishes the holiday.

In fact, from this writer, the winter solstice on December 21 is the REAL big day. The ancients built Stonehenge and other similar structures to mark the shortest day of the calendar year. The first official day of winter gets a lot of coverage in her piece.

And Stonehenge is thousands of years old and predates Christ so THERE, argument concluded.

But hey, let’s all have a merry little Christmas, she says.

OK, here’s a wish for that writer to have a great Christmas season, or holiday season, or whatever she chooses to call it. Shop yourself silly.

As for the rest of us…it’s time for common sense…

No, we’ll never know the exact date. And Jesus never directed His followers to mark His birthday – His death on the cross and His resurrection on Easter Sunday will always be the biggest event in Christendom.

But the arrival of the Savior of the world, with the amazing event depicted in both Matthew and Luke, warrants an official marking and celebration.

An adult Jesus could have just popped into view, sent by God to do miracles and teachings, changing the world with every step.

But the real story here is that Christ arrived as we all arrived on Earth – as a tiny infant, born of a woman. The son of God, small and vulnerable, wrapped in simple cloths. 

He grew up as we all did – as a child, then a youth, then an adult. With all of the stresses and strains that each level brings.

God decided to send his Son to share our common lot, human life. Nothing came easy for him. He wasn’t financially rich. He learned, He worked, He ate and drank. He got his hands dirty as a carpenter, He honored his earthly father and mother, He was an obedient son.

But this greatest story ever told began with a pregnant woman and a birthday. A day we call Christmas. It doesn’t matter the exact date. It happened. 

And the church year is organized to mark this amazing arrival with a four week lead-up to the big day. We call it the Advent season, leading up to Christ’s birthday. And we even named it for Him.

NONE of this would have happened without Him. 

Yes, folks, Jesus IS the reason for the season. It’s simple common sense.

From George Churchgoer