The Glory Of ChristmasSample

The Christmas Tree

Many people think of the Christmas tree as a leftover from the pagan winter rituals of Europe, but in fact, the Christmas tree offers a uniquely Christian symbol of deep biblical truths. Undeniably, Europeans have decorated their homes during winter with evergreen boughs from time immemorial, but in the Middle Ages, Christians began setting up “paradise trees” in their homes to commemorate the Tree of Life on the feast day of Adam and Eve (Christmas Eve). In doing so, they recognized that Jesus came to us as the “second Adam from above,” like we intone in “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” The strong biblical significance attached to the new innovation completely surpassed any meaning puny, pagan, fir decorations might have had.

As seen in Revelation 22:1–2, the Tree of Life will stand among the redeemed in heaven, but it will have taken on a new ironic meaning. Strangely, when Jewish scholars a few hundred years before the birth of Jesus translated the book of Genesis from Hebrew to Greek in the Septuagint translation that would become the Bible of the early church, they chose an odd word to translate “tree [of life].” Rather than the normal word for a green tree, dendron (as in the English word rhododendron or “rose tree”), the translators chose xulon, which means “a dry stick, a piece of lumber, or dead wood.”

As John applied the phrase to heaven’s Tree of Life, it took on a new meaning. The “tree of life” was not an ordinary tree. It was a dead stick—a piece of lumber that now sprouts leaves that heal the nations and abundantly bears fruit every month of the year. Somehow, a dead stick has become the most powerfully alive tree in the universe. Obviously, the cross of Jesus Christ has become the Tree of Life. The very instrument of Jesus’ death has participated in his resurrection, and those who “eat its fruit” will live forever.

Every year, as you decorate your Christmas tree, remember the Tree of Life. When you take it down, remember the dead stick of the cross. Just as your tree went from life to death, you will by faith in Christ ere long pass from death to everlasting life. 

Heavenly Father, please receive our decorated tree and our festive home as an offering of praise and a symbol of longing for our eternal home with you. Let your presence dwell among us richly this season, inspiring us to hope in you, reminding us of the life to come in the world without end, with Christ Jesus our Lord, amen.