On Sunday, I was listening to some throwbacks by Kirk Franklin & the Family, specifically their Christmas album. And as I bobbed my head to “Jesus is the Reason for the Season,” I realized that even though I was very familiar with this song, I’d never truly focused on the lyrics.

The verse says:

I don’t need material things

All I need is the love you bring

This holiday I came to say

That Jesus is the only way

Although this song and many others by this group were part of my childhood, I have to admit that I never really paid attention to any lyrics outside the chorus. Yet, this verse resonated with me as I replayed this song again and again.

I believe part of me jamming to the chorus only over the years was because of my age and tendency to remember catchy hooks and choruses. But as I’ve grown, I now understand that the other part was because I hadn’t fully come to understand the truth behind those lyrics.

Jesus is the reason for the season is such a common phrase that’s passed around during the holidays, and it’s become so familiar to the point of sounding cliché. 

It’s like yeah, I know we’re celebrating Jesus’ birth; I know about the manager and Three Wise Men; I know the scripture that says “for unto us a child is born” . . . got it. But can we get back to Christmas shopping? Can we focus on making travel plans and hosting holiday parties? Can we shift to this excitement I have about getting time off work?

It’s a sad reality that most people, including Christians, associate Christmas and the holiday season with everything and everyone but the person it’s truly about. But, hey, I can’t even knock anyone because all you have to do is take a look at this world to see how easy it is to become distracted from the truth.

Christmas ads go up even before Thanksgiving has passed. Businesses bombard our emails with holiday sales ads while every other commercial announces a holiday discount or promotion. We’re asked “what do you want for Christmas?” while running from store to store or website to website to get our Christmas shopping done. 

And as we juggle all the demands of preparing for the holiday season, most often, our focus on Christ gets more and more narrow. And if we can be truly honest, many times it’s nonexistent during this time of year.

So, when we hear phrases like Jesus is the reason for this season, it’s easy to allow these words to go in one ear and out the other or dismiss them as another seasonal cliché. But I pray that we will slow down this year as we enter into this special holiday season—long enough to truly focus on the Christ in Christmas.

Christ and the significance of his birth are not a clichés.

In fact, his birth is the only reason we’re able to celebrate, and whether we choose to focus on it or not, Jesus’ birth is symbolically represented in many Christmas traditions.

We put a star ornament at the top of our Christmas trees to represent the Star of Bethlehem that the Three Wise Men followed to see the newborn savior. After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. (Matthew 2:9-10)

We give our loved ones gifts to represent how the Three Wise Men offered gifts to baby Jesus. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2:11)

We can freely show and celebrate love as we spend time with family and friends on Christmas because we know what true love means through Jesus’ sacrifice. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15:13)

During the holidays, we are able to take breaks from work and rest. Yet, we can fully rest in the knowledge that our savior Jesus Christ was born and would ultimately die on our behalf, granting us eternal life with God. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)

Everything about this holiday season points back to Jesus, and we can clearly see this if we remove the distractions of a commercialized, self-serving Christmas. Yes, it’s wonderful to give and receive during this time of the year, but nothing compares to the ultimate gift of Jesus.

Christ’s birth meant that one day he would sacrifice his life to save us from sin. And if we choose to accept this priceless gift of salvation, we all will have the chance to spend eternity with God. Now that’s surely a reason to celebrate this season.