The Reason for the Season

"The Reason for the Season" is one of my favorite sayings at Christmastime, but what does it really mean?  Most people probably think of the "first Christmas" meaning the birth of Jesus.  This is good in that it reminds people that Christmas is not just about giving or getting gifts.  It's not just about profits for retailers or even helping people.  Yes, the birth of Jesus is very important and the "reason for the season".

However, if you focus just on the birth of Jesus at Christmas, you are missing out on something very important.  One of my favorite activities each year is to attend the Christmas play at a nearby Bible college.  The reason I like this play so much is that it not only focuses on the birth of Jesus, but his life as well.  We would have no reason to celebrate His birth if it had not been for the life He lived and ulitmately the death He died.  My church auditorium currently has a manger on display next to a cross.  This is fitting since the manger is meaningless without the cross.  The cross is why there is "Christ" in Christmas.  If we celebrate just a miraculous birth, we are missing the point.  It is Jesus' life and death that was God's gift to us.  That is why we rejoice! That is the real "Reason for the Season"

Mark Kirk

Some people believe that Mark Kirk can win the Senate seat that was previously held by Barack Obama.  Just because they think he can win they think that is enough reason to support him.  Nevermind the fact that he voted for cap and trade.  Who cares that he is pro-choice?  This win at any cost mentality is what is destroying the Republican party.  We were told in 2008 that John McCain was the only Republican who could win because he appealed to the middle.  Unfortunately, the right wing was so disgusted with him that not enough of them turned out for it to matter how many people in the middle voted for him.  If you can't get the support of the base of the party, the middle or independent voters don't matter.  It is not impossible for a true conservative to win in Illinois, especially given the current state of the Democratic party in this state.  The Illinois GOP needs to wake up and look for a true conservative.  Even if Mark Kirk wins, the GOP still loses, given that he supports the democrats on the many of the major issues as much as he does the Republicans.