Purposeful Christmas-ing

You’ve heard me say it before: I love Christmas! But as I was getting out my decorations this weekend and starting to plan for the upcoming season, I was once again reminded of how easy it is to get off track and become absorbed with the trappings of Christmas instead of the true meaning of Christmas. And I remembered a post on this blog from many years ago about trying to find the balance and infusing the trimmings and activities of Christmas with real purpose beyond our enjoyment. I hope you won’t mind a replay of portions of that post in order to start our December with some meaningful thoughts. Here are some suggestions I gave before to guide our thinking:

1) 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.

2) 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.

3) 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.

4) 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.

5) 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.

6) 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!

7) Since my adult 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.

8) And 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)

This year, I want to take every opportunity that this wonderful season affords to focus my heart in the right direction.  I’ll always love Christmas, but I’m hoping to become more purposeful about my reasons.