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It’s December 17th. Christmas is still more than a week {okay, eight days} away. But every year shortly after December hits the calender the holiday starts closing in. Slow at first. A party here, cookies there. Then things become faster and more frequent as last minute gifts demand to be purchased, gifts need to be wrapped, travel plans made, events organized and attended. And then, around December 17th I start feeling a knot in my stomach because the pressure is simply becoming too much.
Maybe I’m alone in feeling this way. Or maybe you feel this way at some point during the month of December too.
I think there’s a reason we feel so much pressure during these days. It’s because Christmas is a big deal. Now, I’m not talking about the commercial big deal of Christmas. I mean, Christmas is a big deal. It celebrates what is tied for the event marked as the biggest deal of all time–Christ’s birth. God coming to Earth in human form. {The event tied with this is Christ’s resurrection. And, for the record…this is referencing Amy’s Personal Book of Big Deals.}
With this really big deal in mind, it’s no wonder these become days filled with activity. This is a season of giving because God first gave to us. This is a season of celebration because God gave us a reason to celebrate. This is a season of outreach because the joy and excitement of Christmas is contagious, which makes it a great time to win hearts and share the Good News.
A lot of effort goes into Christmas. Because it’s a big deal.
But before you go off and tell everyone you know that I said Christmas is all about giving loads of gifts, getting new toys and eating until even your stretchy pants feel tight, let me add a few more thoughts.
We have to remember to focus our business, our celebrations, and even our shopping on the reason Christmas is so monumental–Christ. Through all that we do during this season {and the others as well} we must remember that, “…whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.“ {Colossians 3:17}
So all those parties–attend them, but only if you can do it in the name of the Lord. Go and have fun. Show uncontainable joy that looks out of place at an office Christmas party…because you are celebrating more than a Christmas bonus and a few days off–you are celebrating the moment everything changed. The moment God came to Earth. The moment the prophecy was fulfilled. The moment God made it possible to have a personal relationship with Him–no animal sacrifice required.
Buy the gifts, shop your heart out. But do it joyfully, knowing your gifts are a small symbol of the best gift ever given. Wrap them up and even add bows if you like…use those gifts as a tool to open conversation about the heart and attitude behind the gifts.
As I’ve spent time thinking about Christmas this year, my heart has been drawn to John 3:17. I think it sums the whole thing up pretty well:
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
That’s the Christmas story in a nutshell. Sure, there were angels and songs and kings and a journey and a barn–those are details, this is the main point.
This verse is significant because it dispels any notion of ulterior motive. Until Christ’s birth, God coming to our planet was often a terrifying and wrathful thing. The Israelites didn’t even want to hear God’s voice, because they were sure that encounter would cause them death. {Exodus 20} People knew He is great and they were sinful. Since sin entered the world, the human race feared not only God on Earth, but also His messengers. Think of all the stories that tell of angels being met with awe and terror. {Matthew 28, Luke 1:30}. Deep down, the human race knows it should fear, because it should be condemned and judged.
John 3:17 spells out God’s intentions. Jesus didn’t come to wipe out the mess, to tell us that we will never be good enough for God. Just the opposite. He came to save us. To tell us that He loves us, He knows us, and He wants to be with us. It’s a huge gift, totally free. He didn’t come to ask us to be perfect, but simply to love Him. And when we love Him, really and truly, it becomes easier to do everything, even Christmas, even shopping, even travel, even overbooked schedules in His name and for His glory.
Maybe take a minute tonight to refocus on the big deal that is Christmas. Remember why it’s such a big deal. Let that reality sink in. I’m going to take some time tonight to let that knot that’s started to form unwind…to wipe away the pressure of man–to make things sparkly and over the top for the sake of appearance–and cover my attitude with the joy of Christ’s arrival. Let your knot unwind too, and let the next 8 days pass by with insurmountable, unspeakable joy.
