Romans 15:4-13

“And so that Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, ‘Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and I will sing praise to your name. Again it says, ‘Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people!’ And again, ‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; let all the peoples praise him!’”
Romans 15:9-11

How soon is too soon for Christmas ads? Apparently, the answer is Halloween. Because the day after, the halls of Target were decked in Christmas cheer and every commercial break brought tidings of holiday savings. I’m not usually this Grinchy, but seeing shopping centers packed with people celebrating the materialism of Christmas made me want to hermit myself away. I judged those that I felt celebrated Christmas for the wrong reasons. I thought, as a Christian, the only way my celebration could be untarnished was to praise and rejoice separately from them.

If I’ve learned one thing from the time we’ve spent in the Old Testament, it’s that simply because someone is chosen, set apart by God, whether it’s Abraham, David, or Israel itself, doesn’t mean they aren’t flawed. And even on their best days, flawed people are going to worship, pray, and celebrate God in flawed ways. Nowhere has this been more evident lately than in my own worship and prayer life with God. If even those who know and love God can barely get it right, how can I judge those who have yet to know Him?

What I missed from Romans 15:9-11, is God doesn’t just want my praise, He wants all peoples to rejoice in Him with each other. My celebration wasn’t better because I’d kept materialistic people at a distance. In fact, I did the exact opposite of what Jesus did on Christmas. He saw a broken world that had distorted His love and joy, but still decided to dive in so that He could unite us together with Him. To truly celebrate and honor what Jesus did for us on Christmas, I will praise and rejoice in Him amongst, together, and with all peoples.