Christmas is the most decorative holiday of the year. Wreaths gently garnish the front door. Candles glisten in the foggy windows. Poinsettias and holly bedeck the dining room table. Garland adorns the stair rail. And the sleepy Christmas village sits on a blanket of artificial snow in the foyer.
However, the most essential and emblematic decoration is the evergreen that stands tall and proud in the living room: the Christmas tree. This lively pine graced with ornaments and lights is the centerpiece of decorating for Christmas. It is most often the first decoration erected during Christmastime, and most families put it up the day after Thanksgiving. Even Charlie Brown put up a tree for Christmas, although it was virtually a twig.
The Christmas tree is rich with history and theological significance, too. Thousands of years ago, evergreens like Christmas trees stood inside and outside homes during the winter, as people anticipated the return of greenery in spring. Pagans also erected evergreen trees believing that they would heal their sun god who fell ill during winter. Around the 16th century, Christians adopted the tradition as a Christmas emblem, likely symbolizing the gift of everlasting life Jesus brought by His advent. Evergreens, whose leaves remain green all year, came to represent the forever-lasting gift of eternal life that Jesus graciously gives to all who come to Him in repentance and faith.
Eternal life has no expiration date. It is life that goes on without end, independent of time. It is the possession of fullness, satisfaction, contentment, and joy that begins in this life and continues in the next. And, according to Jesus’ own words, it comes as a gift to those who believe in Him for their salvation: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16, KJV). Interestingly, if you possess everlasting life, you will one day be ushered to a heavenly land where the “tree of life” is in eternal bloom (Revelation 22:2). As you hang ornaments on your Christmas tree this year, remember the Christ who hung on a tree to grant you the right to “eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (Rev. 2:7b).
Bible Gleanings is a widely-read weekend devotional column, written for the Murray Ledger & Times in Calloway County, Kentucky.
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He pastored the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky for six years. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English Shepherd), and Dot (Bluetick Beagle).
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