The Reason for the Season!

Oh Christmas season! A week back in the dysfunctional family atmosphere that accompanies the great celebration of Christmas.

On the topic of dysfunction, let me let you in on a secret...sometimes I think the world revolves around me. I know. I know! I went to the planetarium in Hollywood so I do know for a fact the universe does not actually revolve around me...but I like to forget that sometimes.

So I guess in turn....Christmas is not about me. (A hard pill to swallow!)

I know most of you who read this blog believe that "Jesus is the reason for the season!" But I would be willing to bet (ok, maybe not bet, I don't think God approves of gambling...) that we have kind of lost this in the traditions of modern Christmas. We all love Christmas because it is a time to be with family, to eat great food, and to take a break from our busy work days. We love to give and receive gifts (although I don't think materialism and the Gospel go hand in hand), and all of these things are wonderful blessings of Christmas that are fitting. For it is because of Jesus that all these things are possible. But if we really took to heart the meaning of Christmas, I mean really thought about it,  wouldn't we be literally be jumping up and down with joy? Would we not be exchanging excited looks and praising our Father at every moment possible? Would not every day of the season be like receiving the best gift we can imagine under the tree? Because we are not simply celebrating the birth of a baby.

We are celebrating the fact that God, God!, came down to earth to save us. We are celebrating the arrival of the One who took death for us, who is our only hope of restoration. If this day had never come, we wouldn't have the grace and forgiveness we all use up every day! I think that should be the gift we are most thankful for!

I think that we get used to the manger scene. We get used to the joy of presents under the tree and family coming into town. And none of these things are bad. It is great to sing of the silent night. But let us not forget what this day is really all about. This is about the beginning of the end. This is about a love greater than we will ever know on this earth. This is the moment that a perfect God made Himself human so that He could save us from the death that we all deserve.

So for me this Christmas season has been a time to see a lot of my own sin. Really I prefer to focus on the sins of everyone else, but God keeps knocking me in the head. When I am supposed to be thankful and giving, I have been the opposite.

I want to make these last days (and the rest of my life) different. I want to jump out of the monotony of Christmas and dive into true joy and thankfulness. Not because everything has worked out for me this year, but because I am blessed infinitely beyond what I deserve. Those presents under the tree do not even compare to the gifts God has bestowed upon me when I earned none of it.

I am going to jump for joy on Christmas morning. You know why? Because I have been redeemed by the one true Savior.  YIPPPEEEEEEE!!!!!

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