Lord, I will remember what you did. Yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
Psalm 77:11 (NIRV)
Although Thanksgiving has not yet passed, the countdown to the most beloved holiday in the world has begun! Christmas is now only FIVE weeks away! Soon most every home, lit up with red and green and all things shiny, will invite people to enter. Classic Christmas songs, sung by beloved voices from decades past will fill the air, and we will spend endless hours snuggled on couches watching our favorite holiday movies. But while we are excited for the all our treasured traditions, are our hearts longing for this Christmas season for all the right reasons? Are they looking forward to the decorations and music and movies because of what they represent or for the immediate but temporary joy they bring?
Sometimes things become too routine, too familiar. Even when we look forward to it, when it comes to Christmas, we lose some of the childlike awe and wonder we had when we first fully understood its meaning. And although we love the traditions, it’s easy to lose sight of the reason we have any of them. When our celebrations become more focused on habits than on the holiness of God, more greed than gratitude, more ritual than reverence, we lose the only part of this glorious season that matters. In order to truly prepare our hearts for the rapidly approaching festivities, for the birthday celebration of our Lord Jesus Christ, we must go back to the beginning. We need to revisit the story of Jesus’ birth found in the Gospels. We need to get reacquainted with the real Jesus. Not only the true story of His birth, but also His death, His resurrection, and all that it means—the only gift that guarantees us a glorious future!
Only when you look to the cradle and remember the cross can your heart be truly prepared to welcome this season. Only when you dwell on God’s grace and your gratitude for all that He has done, rather than on the gifts and glitter, will you celebrate for the right reasons. As you kick off this joy-filled season, set your heart not on the materialism, but on the manger. Not on the sleigh, but on the sacred! Not on the cards or cookies, but on the CROSS! And certainly not on the jingle bells of a jolly old man in a red suit, but on JESUS! Don’t take for granted the true story—that God sent Jesus for YOU! That tiny Baby rescued you! He gave up His life to give you yours! Celebrate THAT! You are deeply loved!