Jesus said, “I am the
light of the world. Whoever follows me
will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Each time we look at the beautiful Christmas
lights, we can remind ourselves about the true
light and the difference his light makes in the world.
As we decorate our homes with beautiful Christmas things, we
can remember the importance of decorating our own lives on a daily basis with
the things that God considers beautiful:
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people,
holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves
with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever
grievances you may have against one another.
Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
And over all these virtues put on
love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (Colossians
3:12-14)
And the Christmas tree should remind us of another tree –
the one God willingly created and nourished in order to provide a means for the
sacrifice of his own Son for our redemption.
Imagine how our focus would change if we saw the cross every time we looked at our Christmas trees!
What about the special foods and the baking? My ability to enjoy these once-a-year
delicacies should lead me to praise God, “who
richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (1 Timothy 6:17), for his constant
provision for me. Too often we
overlook God’s role in providing for all of our needs, but Christmas can be a
time to shift our focus in this area.
Since my children have not always lived in close proximity
to me, spending time with family is an especially important part of this time
of the year for me. But I don’t want to glorify my earthly family over my
heavenly Father. We can choose to enjoy
our families in the way God intended – by remembering that they are an earthly picture of the heavenly principle of God’s church and
the broader family of believers that we belong to.
It is easy for gift-giving to get out of hand and fail to be
God-honoring. There are probably many
different practical approaches to avoiding this (limiting our spending,
choosing gifts that are edifying, focusing on giving rather than receiving,
etc.). But the most important thing we
can do is to use the giving and receiving of presents as a tool to remember God’s lavish giving of blessings to us – and to cultivate hearts that are truly
thankful beyond this season.
I enjoy receiving Christmas cards and letters from those I
don’t otherwise see or hear from often.
This year, as the cards arrive, I want to try and focus on the gift of God’s constant messages to me – through
his Word as well as the Spirit’s promptings in my life. Whether we keep in touch with those we know
here on earth, our God is always “keeping in touch” with us if we will just
listen.
In 1 Thessalonians
5:19, we are told not to “put out the
Spirit’s fire”. Every time we light
a fire in the fireplace this Christmas season, we can remind ourselves of the
gift of the Holy Spirit and the flames that he fans in our lives to do
what he calls us to do for the kingdom of God.
I am so thankful for his work in my life as comforter, counselor,
and guide (see John 16); and I want to remember that when I’m enjoying a fire in
my fireplace.
When I think about the warm, cozy feeling I get this time of
year, it reminds me of an Old Testament verse that Handel celebrated in his
work, The Messiah. Isaiah
40:11 tells us that God “gathers the
lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart”. What could be more warm and cozy than having
the ability, whenever we choose, to climb up into God Almighty’s lap because he
is our “Abba”, our Father (Galatians
4:6-7)?
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