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It is fascinating how our God manages history. A historian in the first century would have thought it strange that God selected a young homespun virgin to bear and give birth to His Son.

     Also odd is that God would choose a common carpenter to be Mary's husband. After all, carpenters in that day were a "dime-a-dozen." Even Noah, a "middle-class," common inhabitant of his country, a man who walked with God, was chosen and taught how to be a skilled carpenter when the Lord instructed him to build a "Titanic" vessel. Our Lord has most always favored the ordinary, the obscure.

    Of all the Positive factors surrounding the Christmas Season, millions of people, both regenerate and unregenerate, saved and unsaved, are pointed upward and toward a Savior by the name of Jesus Christ. His name is revered and spoken more often this time of the year than any other time. If receptive hearts are to be influenced by heaven's glories, the proclamation of His Name this time of the year will play a major role.

    Another Pro is that this is a beautiful time of the year for families to reunite and express their loyalty to and love for each other. It is a season of sharing and giving—a time to cheer, a time to enjoy God's bounties, a time to grow stronger, a time to create a closer relationship with each other and with our Creator, and a time for recommitment. The Christmas season gives us a majestic and favorable time to take a deep breath and refresh ourselves, relax, and do a self-evaluation in advance of the upcoming New Year and how we are going to fit into it.

     "The precise origin of assigning December 25 as the birth date of Jesus is unclear. The New Testament provides no clues in this regard. December 25 was first identified as the date of Jesus' birth by Sextus Julius Africanus, Christian Historian, in 221 A.D. and later became the universally-accepted date."— https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christmas. Consequently, the Scriptures do not give us the Birthdate of our Lord. That He was born, Yes; that He is alive, Yes; That He saves and forgives, most definitely!

    It might be wise to note that the hustle and bustle this season of the year are almost enough to enact depression—"hurry, do this, snap it up, do that! Let's go, we're going to be late; we need to get there before someone else gets it!" The mad rush never ends. Stress is often seen on the faces of many. There's hardly any room for quiet time, periods of relaxation, and time to reflect. It is all consumed in the traditional scramble to accumulate even more.

    As I view it, the worst Negative is spend, spend, spend, buy, buy, buy. It seems like everyone is striving to outspend others. Credit Cards are maxed out and most probably won't be paid off until next Christmas season—or later.

    Profiteers and "Wall Street Vendors" are greedy for more and more—and still more. I offer no objections to businesses making an adequate profit from their efforts to influence consumers to purchase their products. But when greed in any business conquers common sense, ethics are violated. I like what the apostle Peter wrote, "They have hearts trained in greed" [I Peter 2:14].

    Another Negative that bothers me deeply is that the benevolent acts seen this time of the year are largely absent the remainder of the year. Why are we not benevolent year-round? Why do we seem to want to help the homeless and hungry and jobless during this season but drop them when the season ends? It appears that being humane and good and kind and helpful to others have evolved into a once-a-year experience. Pardon me, but I see a lot of inconsistencies here. Yet in spite of the Negatives...