From the Pastor’s Heart
CHRISTMAS
Can this really be the
Christmas holidays already? How is
it possible? Worse than that, I can
hardly believe that I went shopping on the day after Thanksgiving.
I’m amazed at all that one could possibly buy, and I wonder how there
is any joy in my life, my wife’s or my kids’ lives without most of the stuff
that the “billboards” tell us we must have.
That leads up to the larger question that we parents face and that is how
can we keep the real meaning of Christmas from getting so commercialized in our
own families?
Every year we preachers
make everyone feel guilty with the same thoughts about materialism and the lack
of Jesus in Christmas. But what can
we do about it? Although I’m not
in favor of dancing around a candle, I do think that an advent emphasis can help
us to instill within our families the reason for Christmas.
There are loads of materials available from ministries and I can only
imagine if one would do a on-line search with “advent” just how many sites
you would discover. Now I would like
to point out that you will not find advent in the Bible.
It is church tradition. Even
still, I would like to add that this tradition can be used to keep our minds on
what Christmas is all about. Oh
sure, just like any tradition, all the warnings must be heeded.
You know, I think I would
like to do an advent wreath in our family this year.
Maybe it will be a way (among others) that will help us to keep Jesus in
His rightful place in this ever maddening holiday season we call Christmas. If
you’re feeling guilty about the lack of Jesus in your Christmas
celebrations, then do something about it! Make
an intentional effort to make this a season of celebrating the time when our
Lord Jesus Christ came to earth as a babe. “Glory
to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
Merry Christmas,
Tim