It’s Christmas time, and everybody is running around like crazy. You’re seeing commercials about buying “that perfect gift” for “that special someone.” That person “who has everything” and probably couldn’t find a spot to put anything anyway. You have people who make you feel guilty for buying too much, if you don’t give enough to charity, if you don’t spend the right amount of time with family, for eating so much, for buying the wrong gift, and countless other things. Then you try to find refuge in church, because that’s just what you do around Christmas time, only to be reminded that it’s Jesus’ birthday, and you probably shouldn’t give gifts anyway, because you’re commercializing this holy day, and it never ends.
When my Dad was growing up, he was what he calls a C & E Christian; he only showed up on Christmas and Easter. He couldn’t, for the life of him, figure out how Jesus went from being a baby in December to being 33 years old in April and having to die. To be honest, I couldn’t figure that out either, growing up in church. We seemed to celebrate his birth, Death, resurrection, then tell stories about him the rest of the year. This Christmas, don’t focus on the guilt that’s piled on you. Don’t focus on whether or not you got the right gifts, wrong gifts, enough gifts or if you volunteered enough time or money. Don’t even focus solely on the fact that Jesus came as a baby. Rather, spend time on why he came at all. It’s not necessarily that he came as a baby (whatever time of year it actually was) but it’s why he came. His love for you, and the fact that he chose to fix the relationship that sin had decimated is the only reason he came. He came as a child, humbly to walk where we walk, live where we live, and still point towards the love of God. Merry Christmas to all, and God’s love for your life..
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