In her book, Christmas: A Different Perspective, Beryl Mears presents a thought-provoking challenge to Christians regarding the way they celebrate the most-loved of holidays. After nearly dying from a brain aneurism, Mears writes that God miraculously healed her and placed a passion in her heart for Jesus Christ. This deep love and reverence led her to question the way Christians celebrate the Savior at Christmastime.
Mears believes that Christmas should be less about the birth of Jesus and more about preparing our hearts for Christ’s Second Coming. She encourages Christians to teach their children to sit on the knees of Jesus rather than Santa’s lap, to decorate their hearts with righteousness rather than adorn pagan trees, and to reverence Christmas with true repentance. She believes that the busyness of the season, the commercialization and push to spend, has left Christians not only in debt but exhausted and dreading what should be a time of peace and spiritual reflection.
There is little doubt that Mears’ perspective on Christmas is a cry from the heart of the Father. This book is spiritually motivating but fails to deliver practical methods for Christians to implement. It seems that Mears’ ideal Christmas would be spent in prayerful solitude. Biblically sound as this may be, carrying it out would surely be a daunting task, especially for families with small children.
In addition, much of the author’s intentions may be lost due to poor editing. Run-on sentences, grammatical errors and misspelled words are present throughout. The author’s use of Biblical passages creates confusion in many places where there is little to no punctuation. Often the Holy Word and the author’s own words are run together in a stream of spilled thoughts. As a result, the book can be confusing at times. However, for passionate Christians longing for a better way to serve their Savior at Christmastime, the book’s literary shortcomings may be worth overlooking.
Also available as an ebook
