As the month of November comes to a close, we begin shifting our attention to the Christmas season. In November, our spiritual focus has been on gratitude. Being the month of Thanksgiving, November is the perfect month to honor the energy of gratitude. Of course, gratitude is an energy to be expressed daily throughout the year, not just in November.
Still, as our attention shifts towards the activities of the Christmas season, so too does our spiritual focus shift. Just as November is held as the “season of gratitude,” December is traditionally viewed as the “season of joy,” a time to joyously celebrate the birth of Jesus into the world. Yet it is more than simply the physical birth of Jesus that we celebrate. The real reason for joy is not so much in Jesus’ birth, but rather more so in the example of what he taught and how he lived his life. By remembering and celebrating his birth, we also remember the opportunity for our own rebirth through the power of the Indwelling Christ.
The True Light of the Christ
In Discover The Power Within You, Eric Butterworth writes that Jesus made the “great discovery” of the Indwelling Christ. Through his teachings and his expressions of the Christ, Jesus not only demonstrated the limitless creative power of the Christ, but also illuminated the greater truth that the Christ is also in you and in me. Through his own “discovery” of the Indwelling Christ within, Jesus was able to authoritatively teach that you and I have the same creative potential that he demonstrated.
Charles Fillmore taught that the “Christ in you” is the “true light which guides,” and that this “true light” is and has forever been within you, within me. The “true light” of the Christ is the creative principle through which everything was “formed and came into existence.” Each time we speak “words of Truth,” we are partaking of the same “spiritual substance” through which Jesus demonstrated the Christ, remembering that what He can do, we can also do.
Christ in You, the Hope of Glory
In Colossians 1:27, Paul speaks to these same teachings when he says: “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” The “hope of glory” speaks to our Christ potential. The Christ does not automatically express. It requires our participation. If we are ever to experience the “glory” of expressing the Christ, rather than just the “hope” of doing so, we must accept the responsibility of stewardship for the Christ.
At the end of the day, Jesus is only one example of Christ expression, a really good one no doubt, but still only one form of the Christ. You and I are also potential expressions of the Christ. We participate in that demonstration every time we think, speak or act in alignment with the Truth of the Indwelling Christ principle. If Jesus had not made the “great discovery,” perhaps someone else would have. But the truth is Jesus did make that discovery, and it is for this reason that we celebrate his birth each year.
Rebirthing the Christ in You
Looking beyond just the physical birth of Jesus, metaphysically, Christmas represents the birth of the Christ into the world. Said another way, Christmas represents the birth of the Christ principle into the consciousness of humankind. Jesus discovered it and then communicated it to humankind in such a way that we could see it for ourselves. Through his teachings of Truth, demonstrations of miracles, and encouragements of our own Christ expression, Jesus showed us the way to demonstrate the Christ in all of our ways, through all of our days.
In this now moment, you are actually more involved in growing your capacity for expressing the Christ you are, rather than giving birth to the Christ. The Christ in you was born long ago. Now it is more like you are “rebirthing” the Christ. In this light, Christmas is more like a season of rebirth for the Christ within you, an opportunity to reaffirm your personal commitment to expressing more and more of your own Christ potential.
Every time you connect with and express from the Christ within, you are in effect participating in “rebirthing the Christ,” which is why the Christmas season is so powerfully attractive. We are physically born but once in this lifetime. However, metaphysically speaking, we are constantly involved in a creative process of being “reborn” in each and every instant of that lifetime. Every single moment of every day we have the opportunity to awaken to ever greater levels of creative potential, and to demonstrate that potential in ever greater expressions of love, gratitude, joy and peace.
Every Day is Christmas Day
Each and every time we experience the Christmas season, each one of us has a brand new opportunity to deepen our commitment to expressing more and more of our own individual Christ potential. This is the purpose of the Christmas season. To remind us that each one of us is a Christ in potential, just like Jesus. But manifesting our Christ potential is not just something to do at Christmas. It is a divine responsibility every single moment of our lives. In this way, every day is Christmas day. It is always the season of rebirth for you and me, the holy instant of recognition of our true Christ Nature.
The Christmas season serves as a powerful reminder of the unlimited creative potential that is alive within each one of us through the Indwelling Christ. Like our expressions of gratitude in the Thanksgiving season, expressing our Christ potential is not solely and exclusively intended for the Christmas season. Like gratitude, we are intended to express our Christ potential every single day of the year.
So as you move through the experience of this Christmas season, I encourage you to look a little deeper, with ever more clarity, at the Christ potential within you that is still awaiting expression. Find a way each and every day to rebirth the Christ in you by aligning with Truth and expressing Truth. Then resolve to carry that with you into the new year and beyond. I promise it will make all the difference in your life and in the lives of those who you touch.
