Well, the holiday season has officially begun. Thanksgiving is already behind us and Christmas is looming its head on the horizon. Ever notice how stores have taken over the holidays. Christmas decorations go up in the stores earlier and earlier each year. Mega Sale flyers are sent to your mailbox daily and extra loud, obnoxious commercials on TV bombard us continuously until the 2nd week of January. According to society, the holidays are special unless you pack a plethora of presents under your tree each year. Baby Jesus is all well and good, but after all, let’s be practical … Jesus doesn’t come with 4G speed or help us look good with the latest fashions.
Have we sold out? Have we surrendered to the gods of Christmas; Target, Wal-Mart, Macy’s, Saks 5th Avenue … have we forgotten the true meaning of Thanksgiving and Christmas? Is it really normal to go deep in credit card debt to meet the trumped up expectations of family members with gifts they want, but may not need. I know, I know, gifts are supposed to be something you wouldn’t normally purchase for yourself, but could definitely use. I love gifts. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with giving or receiving gifts. It is when the event shoves Christ out of the celebration that it becomes questionable.
While I fail to achieve this on a regular basis, I understand that as believers, our main focus each day is to be set squarely on our Lord. If God gave us an unexpected pop quiz (we all know how much we hated them in school), regarding our comings and goings each day and what our mind was fixated on, we would probably fail. This is a tough thing, living for God, but He wants to make it easier. We are just bucking the system He has set up. We come up with our own little plans and schemes and ideas for living a good life and as a result, miss the mark.
God is patient; His mercy and grace are at our disposal. So what are we doing? Go, buy your gifts, but don’t go into debt doing it (yes, I am meddling). Put up your decorations. Trim your tree. All wonderful family traditions. Just don’t forget about Jesus. He WAS a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, but he grew up to be a man. He walked the earth for 3 years ministering to all whom He came in contact with. Christmas commemorates the birth of Christ. We understand the importance of praising Him for Who He is, now praise Him for coming in the first place. God didn’t have to do that. He chose to because He loves us even before we knew Him.
That reminds me of the chorus from an old Pentecostal hymn from about 30 yrs ago … “Such love, such wondrous love, such love, such wondrous love; that God should love a sinner such as I, how wonderful is love like this.”
WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!
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