A Letter To An Unbelieving Family

The following is the letter (edited slightly) we sent to members in our family who do not love Christ. We trust it will be helpful in dealing with this issue.

Dear Family,

We are writing you this letter because its contents have such great ramifications for our lives, and we wanted you to be able to have some time to think about the following before we discussed this in person. We love you very much, and would not ever want to do anything that would separate our families. Yet, at the same time, we cannot (and refuse to) deny what we believe to be true, regardless of the consequences.

We have just recently come to the conviction that Christmas is not a celebration we want to be a part of. We know this sounds absurd, but nonetheless, here we stand. We do not believe that the celebration honors the Christ we know and love (the Christ of the Bible). In fact, we have come to see that Christmas actually dishonors Him, perverts the gospel of Christ (i.e., the Holy Christ who hates evil, idolatry, and that which is highly esteemed among men, Luke 16:15), and we do not in any way want to associate ourselves with a practice that not only has a wicked history, but at this present time is centered around lies (Santa Claus, Jesus' Birthday supposedly, and the "spirit of Christmas").

We fully understand that we will probably be misunderstood in this, be considered "out of our minds", and may even receive anger and hostility from those who love this world and the things in it (1 John 2.15-17). But, such is the consequence of following Christ. They hated Him, called Him "mad" (John 10:20), and even said He was demon possessed.

And, in refusing to celebrate Christmas, this is exactly what we believe we are doing -- following Christ, the Christ of Scripture, not the Christ of Christmas. The Christ of Christmas is loved by this world (you can see this very plainly by the very popularity of the holiday, the nativity, and the adoration given to this "Christ-child" of Christmas). The Christ we follow is not adored by this world, but is hated to this very day by those who refuse to submit their lives to the Word of God.

We pray you will understand, and will accept us as we are (not as you would like us to be). Also, we apologize for giving you a Christmas list. At the time we sent this list out, we did not have this understanding. If you have already obtained a gift(s) for us, you are welcome to return it. Or, we will thankfully receive it, but we would like to receive it in such a way that has absolutely nothing to do with Christmas (wrapped in Christmas paper, etc.).

On December 25, my family and I will look at this day as any other day in the year. We know this may be difficult. In fact, Christmas has been a holiday often to look forward to (time with family, etc.). But, we know we can get together with family any time of the year. We simply no longer want to associate our lives with the practices of Christmas, which from our perspective, dishonors the One we live our lives for on a daily basis.

Most importantly, we must add, whether you agree with us on this or not, is hardly the real issue of this life. You have refused to repent. We can't hardly talk about Christ and His love, Hell and Heaven, life and death (the most important subjects to discuss known to man), we have felt, without some form of hostility arising. Do you know why that is? Because you are still lost in your sin. You are still in rebellion against the God who made you. Can you actually believe that He would receive someone into His heavenly kingdom who is in such opposition against Him?

Does this sound harsh? Maybe. But, we love you, and we must warn you. If we didn't care about you, we would stay silent. But true love speaks the truth in love. Please, will you consider that you need Christ, His forgiveness, and His direction in your life? Time is short. Hell is real! And, no one escapes the Almighty.

Yes, we want to discuss these things with you in person, but are you willing? This letter was written in an effort to diminish the possibility of misunderstandings. Yet, we acknowledge that there still will probably be many.

We love you, and want so desperately for you to know Christ. He is why this whole creation exists. The reason this world is in such a mess is because men refuse to honor Him, listen to Him, and thus they walk in their own foolish and wicked ways in rejection of the God who has given them life. Despite the fact that many are religious, most men, even in their religion, reject the Words of God, and opt for the words (opinions) of men.

As we trust, it should be obvious by now, that our feet are not so firmly planted in this world. Our hopes are in heaven, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Our purpose here is to fulfill God's course for our lives, and then move on, to the kingdom that God has promised all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ.

May you come to know the living Savior.

In His Love and Service,