It is the most wonderful
time of the year. People seem to be in a holly jolly mood. Some are dreaming of
a white Christmas. Some focus on the spirit of giving with baking and shopping
for loved ones. Some like the weather while building snowmen and making snow
angels. (People can only dream about these in the heat where I live.) Some are
planning Christmas menus to share meals with their extended families. Some are
volunteering to help those less fortunate themselves. Some are decorating their
homes.
Over the years, my mood during
December has swung from one extreme to the other and back to somewhere in the
middle. Some years, I despised Christmas for the commercialism that starts in October;
the greed of people focused more on getting than giving, and the overextension of
my budget. In other years, I toss all cynicism aside and go all out on
decorating the tree, watching Christmas movies, listening to Christmas music on
the radio, and focus on giving the best I can to the ones I love.
This year, I find myself somewhere in
the middle. I was excited to put up my Christmas village and had it up in just
a couple of hours. Then I put up the tree. The tree has been up for over a week,
and I finally put lights on it yesterday. As of writing this, it still only has
lights on it. My wife and I have completed most of our Christmas shopping,
mostly thanks to her. I take off most of December from one job but work more
hours at my second one.
I am not sure why my December moods
change so frequently. To tell the truth, the reason does not matter. I love my
family and my friends. I love seeing them happy and smiling. My coworkers make
working during the holidays better. Like my family and friends, they can put a
smile on my face.
People matter.
It is because of this that I do not
want to lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas. It is not just the spirit
of giving. Some may not believe this, but I do. The meaning is specifically about
what God has given to us. He wants us to have a relationship with Him just as I
want with those I love. The thing he gave us was His son, Jesus, to take care
of the business that we ourselves cannot do. That business is to pay for our
sins by being born into this world, dying, and resurrecting so that we may live
with Him. Sin kept us away, but “if you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is
Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you
will be saved.”
Christmas is about God’s love for
us. Let us celebrate by returning that love to Him and to those around us.
No comments:
Post a Comment