Christmas time is here once again and so is the Grinch! 

It seems to me that the popularity of this gangly green menace turned champion of yuletide merriment is everywhere from Christmas sweaters and ties to yard decorations and oh the Grinch impersonators I have seen this season. 

I remember the 1966 cartoon version narrated by Boris Karloff the best and I suppose is still my favorite version. 

Contained therein is a small moment that seemed to cause my mind much yuletide thought, and it occurs when little Cindy Lou Who, who after catching old Mr. Grinch in the act of stuffing her Christmas tree up the chimney asks the question… “But why?” 

For those of you who have not read Dr. Seuss’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (New York: Random House, 1957), the story goes like this: Every Who down in Who-ville Liked Christmas a lot… But the Grinch, who lived just north of Who-ville, did NOT! 

The obvious question is “Why didn’t the Grinch like Christmas?” No one knows for sure. 

But after probing into the possible causes of the Grinch’s unholy disaffection for Christmas, Dr. Seuss concludes that “the most likely reason of all may have been that his heart was two sizes too small.” 

The Grinch “stood there on Christmas Eve, hating the Whos, Staring down from his cave with a sour, Grinchy frown.” 

He decided he “must find some way to stop Christmas from coming!” Then he got an idea! An awful idea! THE GRINCH GOT A WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA!

This brought to my mind and article I had read a few years back in Relevant magazine by Austin Sailsbury which observed “the Grinch has become the most well-known of Dr. Seuss’ stories. 

As Dickens did with Ebenezer Scrooge, Dr. Seuss literally redefined the essence of what it means to be a heartless fun hater. Set in the cheery-cheeked hamlet of Whoville, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” is a Seuss-ified critique of both the over-commercialization of Christmas (the Whos with all their presents) and its antithesis, holiday humbuggery (old Mr. Grinch). 

But, in the end, the Grinch realizes Christmas is not about material things that can be “stolen,” but instead about the intangible joys of the season. Taking another cue from Dickens, the Grinch is ultimately redeemed, which is not only fitting but required for any great story about Christmas — after all, it’s the beginning of the story of redemption itself.” 

So back to the question posed by little miss Cindy Lou, “But why?” 

Well, first off, there are a lot of questions. Questions like, how can people really miss the “The Reason for The Season.” 

Several years ago, there was a story told about this young couple who were planning to have their little baby christened in their beautiful home. 

It was a cold wintry day. And as the guests began to arrive, they were greeted by the husband and wife. 

As the couples entered, they tossed their coats and scarves on the bed that was adjacent to the living area. Everyone arrived at approximately the same time. After a brief time of fellowship, someone asked, “Where’s the baby?” 

The mother quickly dashed into the bedroom and discovered that the coats and the scarves had been carelessly thrown on the bed where she had placed the little baby. 

The little child was almost smothered at his own party! 

We get busy, preoccupied and before you know it, we forget the answer to the question, “Why?” 

We as a culture have successfully removed the message of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in a manger in Bethlehem from the minds of many for a couple of generations now. 

The question is “But why?”, and the answer is important because the message of Christmas is still the greatest story ever told!

The best of wordsmiths is Max Lucado who wrote… “If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator; If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist; If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist; If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer; But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.” 

The greatest need for every life has been supplied in the person of that little baby in a manger in Bethlehem. 

The reason we are drawn to the scene when the Grinch to come coasting back down the mountain with all the goodies is that God has set eternity in your heart. 

Like all good stories, The Grinch points toward the One True Story about how God sent his own Son to turn our hearts from hate to love and take us home to live with him, happily ever after. 

Oh, it matters to me, and it matters to you, it matters to everyone under the sky… It matters, it matters oh believe me it matters, and it answers the question to the question… “But why!”

Tim Throckmorton is the president of Lifepointe Ministries.