Do you ever notice how the retail stores in your area start Christmas in October? Working in one, I have, and I must say it is a bit distressing. It seems as though we have taken the message of Christmas, and turned it into something totally different, at least in practice, than what it is meant to be.
Surely, God gave us His greatest gift at Christmas, and we should give good gifts to our loved ones, but do we really need to spend thousands of dollars on it? Do we really need to emphasize the material side of this season? How many times during the Christmas season do we actually stop to think about God's endless love for us that prompted Him to send Jesus in the first place?
When Jesus was born, the Jewish people were waiting in anticipation for the coming Messiah. They still wait today because thier leaders were too worried about their material possessions, and their positions of power to see and accept the Messiah God sent them. They were too wrapped up in what they were doing, and how it affected their own pocketbooks to see that the Messiah God sent is exactly the Messiah they needed. It doesn't matter who is in political power, or who is leading the religious groups of our times, all the matters is that God loves us as His children, and we share that love with those around us.
The Jewish leaders were looking in anticipation for an earthly king. One that would set them free from the hands of the Romans. They sought someone who would eleviate their current suffering, someone who would make them, once again, a proud nation. The Messiah they got wouldn't set them free from their earthly masters, but he could, and would, set them free from the bondage of their sins. He could, and would, give them a life that would be lived in accordance with the plan God has laid out for all His children. He couls, He would, but they couldn't see it. The trappings of their situations took over, and they missed the point of His ministry, and His teachings. They saw someone who threatened their wellbeing, and ignored the one whow would give them life.
When I was a kid, and even sometimes today, I think about all the things I am going to get as presents for Christmas. I make arrangements with my mother to go out for lunch, and then shopping for my present. I think about what things I might buy myself as a present. I go to the store, look around, and see what's good. I may even buy my own presents ahead of time. (for example the Tea Service that my roommate bought me, which I have already used.... [dont be impressed, it only cost $20])
It seems like tat this time of year, we get over anxious about what we are going to buy our friends, family and loved ones for Christmas. We begin to do the shopping, sometimes as early as Springtime in order to have everything we are buying for others. We get so busy. The time seems to just go out the window or someplace. We don't take the time to sit back and reflect on the real reason we have Christmas.
It isn't about the presents, really it's not. It's not about going to church (maybe for the first time in the year(. It's not even about sitting down to have dinner with your family. What it is about is remembering that God, in His great love for us, sent Jesus Christ to the earth. God sent Him to be a sacrifice for our sins, and an example for our lives. God sent Him to show us how we could live lives that would be pleasing to God, and how we should show His love by how we treat others.
During this extremely busy season,let us all remember to take the time to sit back and reflect on God's wondrous gift of His son. Let us remember how on that Christmas night the shepherds came to worship him. Let us remember how the wise men went to great lengths, and traveled many miles just so they could see him. Let us remember that through Him, God has given us life, not just here on this earth, but in heaven for eternity.
