Christmas Thoughts from XEKE.com

It seems as though the Christmas season begins earlier and earlier every year.  Did you notice the number of stores that encouraged Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving?  Unbelievable.  It’s a shame that the message of Christmas and Thanksgiving is in danger of becoming entirely glossed over in favor of unadulterated consumerism.  This, however, isn’t a column denouncing the trend of wiping out the meaning of Christmas, but rather a column to promote the true meaning and the miracle of Christmas.

Nothing about the Christmas story suggests pride or greed, and this should be our attitude as well.

I like getting new stuff as much as the next guy, but I’ve been drawn in recent years to use Christmas as a chance to reflect on how God has blessed me rather than to take advantage of the gift-giving season.  Do you realize how much God has blessed you?  Yes, there are material blessings.  If you’re reading this, you have access to a computer and the internet.  This automatically places you in the upper echelon of the world population.  You probably have a car or at least access to reliable transportation.  How many evenings do you go hungry?  But what really makes you blessed is that God loves you and He went to the greatest length to show you His love.

God loved you so much that despite your sin, along with generations of humanity deliberately choosing to leave not love God, He followed through with his promises and plan to send a deliverer for you.  Jesus, fully man and fully God, was born as a baby in a stable.  His mother was a virgin.   Shepherds announced his birth.  God did not use His coming to the world to shock and awe us.  He came humbly.  Nothing about the Christmas story suggests pride or greed, and this should be our attitude as well.

As Christmas approaches, why not think about the magnitude of the same God who spoke all of creation into existence also becaming man.  He became man so that he could take all of our sins upon Himself, die, conquer death, and reconcile the world to Himself.  Think about that long enough, and getting that new XBox doesn’t seem like such a big deal.

Merry Christmas from XEKE.com.

rg