Sometimes, I think we forget what Christmas is really about.
At the most basic level, it is the time when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Scholars and historians may continue to debate about the exact date of Christ's birth, but the fact that the majority of the world has agreed to all celebrate together on the same day is a blessing in and of itself-- so December 25 is fine with me!
If we continue to explore the meaning of Christmas, we would find that Christmas is about God's love for us--"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son...."
If we continue going deeper, we would find that Christmas is about deliverance, for Jesus was born to model a sin-free life before us and to make a way for us to be delivered from sin.
If we go even deeper, we will find that there is so much depth to what Christmas is all about, and one of the most special things about Christmas is that it's about presence, not presents.
God desired and chose to be present with us--hence Jesus is known as Emmanuel, which means God with us. God was manifest to us through the person of Jesus Christ so that He could be physically present with us--to meet us where we were.
God sent us His Son. But if we understand that God is one being who exists in three "persons" (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), then we will realize that God didn't send someone else to see about us, He, himself, actually came to walk, talk and BE with us!
Since God took that first step to reach out to us and relate to us, the least we could do is respond accordingly. Instead, we use Christmas as a time to focus on what we can get--and that can range from presents, to food, to drugs, to alcohol and even sex.
Yes, some of us use the Christmas holiday as an excuse for excess and revelry. We party hearty, long and strong, and totally forget whose birthday we are supposed to be celebrating.
Some of us are probably even irritated that Christmas had the "nerve" to fall on a Sunday! What a way to mess up our holiday plans!
Hello?! What better day for Christmas to fall on! How appropriate that we would spend Christmas morning in the house of the One whom we are celebrating! That should make this Christmas one of the most special ones ever, because God is showing and reminding us that the holiday is not about presents, but about His loving presence.
Perhaps the fact that Christmas is on a Sunday this year means God is issuing a personal invitation to all of us to truly celebrate Him this December 25. We have all certainly seen more than enough worldwide and personal calamities this past year to bring us to our knees in worship and repentance. Maybe this is a more gentle way of getting us to the altar.
I encourage you to make sure you find your way to the Lord's house this Sunday for THE birthday party of the year. The presents under the tree can just wait a little longer on Christmas day, for the presence of the one who hung, bled and died on a tree is beckoning us all.
Answer the call and enjoy your Christmas presence!
BNcouraged!
Rev. Karen
No comments:
Post a Comment