Sometimes we have to face what something isn't in order to remember what it is.
For instance, we're in the second week of Advent. Traditionally a season of preparation for Christmas.
I recently read a great blog by Amy Poole. She writes about being away from home for Christmas for the first time.
Amy makes the point that, "I forgot one crucial fact: Christmas is not about me. Christmas isn’t about my comfort or packed holiday agenda, it’s not about the lights I see, the decorations I display, or the songs I sing. No, Christmas is about remembering my Savior who came over 2,000 years ago to offer the gift of grace, forgiveness and hope."
In the spirit of the Advent season, I'd like to offer some thoughts regarding what Christmas isn't and what it is.
Christmas isn't:
1. About doing stuff.
Ironically, even though our Western Culture is mostly post-Christian and secular, there is still a lot of pressure to do things during the Christmas season. However, it's all that tangential doing that quite often gets in the way of spending time meditating on the meaning behind Christmas.
When we slow down and make room for God, God's Son fills us with love, peace and patience.
2. About buying things.
The gifts that God's Son gave us turn out to be free, in terms of monetary compensation. There're priceless. Redemption, salvation, relationship, unconditional love. All of it is at no charge. All we have to do is admit we're sinners and ask for forgiveness.
The most precious thing we can have is relationship with God's Son. There are tons of spiritual benefits to that relationship that also come free of charge.
3. About keeping a bunch of social engagements.
There is absolutely nothing wrong about getting together with friends and family!
But if we make socializing the high point of the Christmas season it's bound to be stressful and a letdown. Because no other relationship or friends can replace having God's Son at the center of our life.
The most important social engagement we can keep is spending time with the One who saved us in the first place.
Christmas is:
1. Being reconciled.
God's Son came to us as a baby. Sharing his birthplace with some animals and a few shepherds. He was (and is) God incarnate. Emmanuel. God living with us. The baby lying in a manger began a process of reconciliation that brought the human race spiritually back from the dead.
2. Being loved.
The reconciliation wouldn't have happened without the crucifixion. That act took massive amounts of love. The apostle John wrote, "There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends." (John 13.15).
Because God's Son lay down His life for us, we can know, without question, that we are loved, unconditionally and eternally.
3. Being centered on others.
The rush of the holidays offers the perfect storm of activities to test our need to be in control.
But Christmas also offers a golden opportunity to look for ways to bless those around us. We can choose to slow down, stay focused on God's Son, get filled with God's unconditional love and give it away.
Looking for the perfect Christmas present? How about sharing God's love?!
Photo Credit: www.evandolive.com
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