And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.
- Luke 2:52
In a memorable scene from the 2006 film Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby, the movie’s protagonist opens a family dinner by saying grace. “Dear Lord Baby Jesus,” he begins. His prayer quickly goes off the rails—this is a Will Ferrell comedy, after all—and he has to restart several times, each time with a variation of that same opening address. After one of these resumptions, his wife interrupts to remind him, “You know, sweetie, Jesus did grow up. You don’t always have to call him ‘baby.’
“Look,” he responds. “I like the Christmas version best, and I’m saying grace!”
Silly at is, there’s something to that sentiment that we all understand. There’s a sweetness and a sentimentality to the nativity that we cherish, an innocence that is universally appealing. What’s more, if we stop Jesus’ story in Bethlehem, it’s all hope and no challenge—salvation without repentance, a manger but no cross.
But as much as we all love the story of Christmas, you need the rest of the story too. You need to hear his message that the kingdom of God is at hand. You need to see how, by his power, the sick are healed and the hungry fed. You need to follow him to Calvary, to believe in his sacrificial death upon the cross. You need to rejoice in his glorious resurrection, and you need to await his return.
You need Christmas, but you also need Good Friday and Easter Sunday, because you need all of Jesus, not just the baby in the manger. So as the decorations come down and the carols start to fade, don’t despair that Christmas is over—it’s simply time to tell the next part of the greatest story ever told.
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