Psalm 16:5-6 The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.
Okay, I know we haven't gotten to Thanksgiving yet, but I can't help but already be in the Christmas mindset. I love Christmas. The more I get to know God and grow in my Christian faith, the more I love Christmas. I love what it does to people. For a short time it brings goodness where it's lacking, generosity where there is greed, kindness where there is hostility, patience where there is intolerance, love where there is hate. Christmas is such a testament to the One it celebrates. It makes my heart want to be more and more lined up with His as I am reminded what my life should be like. It truly is a shame that these attitudes and Christlike behaviors are only glorified for a season, and not a lifetime. I speak about myself. I wish I could be in that "celebratory attitude" of Christ ALL the time.
I don't think I realized how important Christmas is to me and my faith until I heard a very unexpected comment out of someone yesterday. Wish list were the topic of choice and I made a comment about not destroying catalogues with markings. Well the comment I made led to this response, "then Christmas is useless". Even typing that to tell this story makes my heart sad again.
Once it was said it felt as if everything I believed, my entire conviction on who Jesus is, was mocked and trampled upon. It hurt my heart so intensely that I had to call my mom and weep until the hurt had eased.
The person who said it meant no harm at all. He/she let a knee jerk response come out without really thinking about the words first. And the maturity level would not have allowed better discernment. But, in thinking about this event over the past 24 hours, it has opened my eyes to an important lesson.
Our culture does not honor the King as He deserves. It's not just the Santa issue, or greediness, or even selfishness. It's complacency.
As Christians, young or old, our lives should celebrate Him EVERY DAY we have the breath to do so. We should not have to be reminded by a calendar, a toy catalogue, a holiday gathering, or a wish list. He is not just goodness "12 days" out of the year. He is the Savior of the world, He is my Hope.
If none of us ever receive another gift as long as we live, if we never see a decorated tree, or hear sleigh bells ring, and if we never have another chance to make a wish list......let us be reminded, oh God, that You have given us your all. You are our inheritance, our portion, and our revelation. May we never forget all that we have in You and may we celebrate with our lives giving thanks in all things to the One who redeems.
Lamentations 3:24 "The Lord is my portion", says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him."
2 comments:
Great Post!
I must admit, my tree is up and totally ready. We love to have Christmas around for at least 2 months! It gives us plenty of time to think about what Christmas is really suppose to be about, instead of just getting caught up in the rush of things!
Amen Friend! Thanks for the challenging reminder. If only we allowed Christ's love to transform every moment it truly would be year around Christmas!
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