Zacchaeus stood up and told Jesus, ‘Listen, I will give half my belongings to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay back four times as much.’ Photo: Free Bible Images
Contemporary society’s downward spiral into becoming more secularised and humanistic, has triggered lots of inevitable consequences. Notably, fewer people identify nowadays as ‘religious’. A weird irony is that with Christianity being the originating source for our festive season, ‘non-religious’ people nonetheless enjoy celebrating modified versions of Christmas, stripped of any mention of Christ.
Murray Smith
Visiting a store selling Christmas greeting cards, I noticed few cards carrying any Christian message or referencing Christ’s birth. Overhearing two ladies cussing loudly about a couple of cards they judged to be “forcing religion into Christmas”, I wanted to postulate, “Sorry, but whose name is that in “Christmas?”
In New Zealand’s 2023 census, the number of people indicating “no religion” increased to 51.6 per cent from 48.2 per cent in 2018. It marked the first time ever that this group represented the majority. Numbers affiliated with more traditional expressions of Christian faith showed decline too. However, everywhere, especially amongst youth, a strong rising tide of interest in the Bible and about Jesus is evident. Statistics can’t capture the full story.
A week ago, I spoke with a man working with “Gideon’s”, an international Christian ministry focused on sharing God’s Word by distributing free Bibles and New Testaments. This global organisation places Bibles in hotels and among other activities, provides New Testaments to Kiwi high school students. The remarkable thing is, while many schools won’t permit “Gideon’s” Bible distribution – (along with ditching prayer and other Christian expressions on school campuses), at grass roots, interest isn’t declining.
This man gained approval to offer free Bibles outside a particular high school’s gate – off campus. He reported over 250 students approaching to receive their free copy… students heard from friends about the offer and eagerly made their way to secure a copy from this guy giving them away.
Something fresh is stirring. Back in 2016 the Oxford Dictionary declared the ‘Phrase of the Year’ to be “post-truth era” having observed its usage increase by 2000 per cent. The sense of our world being in a ‘post-truth era’ back then still shows signs today of gaining oxygen with twisted, misrepresented, distorted and unreliable information abounding. Yet there’s evidence of countless numbers tiring of the ‘my truth, your truth,’ mantra. Increasingly people are simply wanting to know the truth – and they’re openly seeking answers from Jesus whose timeless message, “I am the truth,” invites both hope and purpose.
While leading a small group course explaining the basics of Christian faith, I related the beautiful facts surrounding the original Christmas story – Jesus coming to earth. One young lady’s face shone as she happily expressed her personal discovery of the unique significance of the real Christmas story for the first time. The wondrous account of Mary giving birth to Jesus – how God had come to earth in human form to reveal Himself to humanity.
Observing nativity scenes on Christmas cards and in shop windows since childhood, this young girl had never connected the dots as to the story behind those images. Like many her focus was adrift, always distracted by the season’s secular options on how to get ‘happy’… celebrating Christmas devoid of Christ.
The ‘real reason for the season’ is Jesus. Making that discovery changes everything.
