Christmas is upon us. This year, I’ve been struck by the Christmas colors that Stanford flaunts on its logos. I suppose that makes Stanford sort of Christmassy.
But in a more important sense, Stanford’s not Christmassy at all. Christ isn’t at the center, and celebrating Christmas without Christ is like being married without a spouse. Something essential is missing.
God has called us here to help a school with Christmas colors develop true Christmas spirit. Christmas is about Jesus being born—not just born in a manger 2,000 years ago, but being born in each of our hearts. Until every heart becomes a manger, we’ll be proclaiming the Christmas story to the students at Stanford, whether it’s December or July.
So if you’re ever on campus and you hear some fool yelling “Merry Christmas” at a wildly inappropriate time of year, be sure to tell me hi.