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Merry Christmas Part I
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“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in Heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!” Matthew 7:11 (NASB)
This three part series originated from a three point Sunday school lesson in December of 2004. A conglomeration of thoughts had been whirling through my head – as I once again tried to make sense, or balance, of the holiday season. I consider myself, maybe more highly than I should, as a fairly grounded person in my faith. Yet, each Christmas finds me on the same titter-totter. Up, up I go into worship over this special season with heavenly reason, and then down I plunge, swooping into the mall for those cards and gifts. Up and down, up and down. Okay, I get the part that what goes up must come down, but you would think I would learn to land on my feet instead of my fanny by now!
One Sunday last December, we planned to study Priscilla from the New Testament. She was an awesome woman and there is more to her than meets the eye. However, that particular morning, she was also the lesson that refused to be taught. God handed me something else that day and I feverishly feasted upon the morsels He supplied. Thus was born a tri-part message for Christmas.
Let me ask you a question. What do you do to make it a “Merry” Christmas for your family? Read the question very carefully and note the spelling of each word. Now answer the question. Perhaps you are thinking about the house decorations, the cards you send, the special treats you whip up, and finally the gifts. Oh yes, the gifts. We shop ‘til we drop desperately trying to find just the “right” thing for our beloveds. Please note I am not implying this is necessarily a bad thing. Nevertheless, let’s look at gifts since they constitute such a large part of this season.
I hope that we have all gotten past the “guilty gift giving”. You know what I am talking about! Those gifts are the ones we purchase out of misguided obligation. Life is too short and so is my bank account to indulge in that any longer. If you get a gift from me, it is because I want you to have one! Now the opposite does not always hold true, if you do not receive a gift from me. Sometimes, I am simply short on cash or I could not find that “just right” thing. Then I humbly ask you to settle for my love, prayers and enduring friendship, and possibly a plate of cookies!
You see I am sure none of us wants a gift out of a perceived obligation. In addition, who feels comfortable knowing someone overspent on a gift. If you are like me, a Hershey’s kiss and a heartfelt hug equate to diamonds and gold. However, when we grace tokens of love on one another, it is generally done with a great deal of thought and feeling. In the Matthew 7:11, Christ tells us if we will do that for one another, with our flesh nature, how much more will God do – who is perfect in nature. Well, this is exactly what He did! He put ions of thought and love into the gift of the Christ-Child. Our Father took His most precious and prized possession and shared it with us.
Sometimes we hustle about trying to make it a “Merry” Christmas and we forget to have a Merry Christmas with the only gift that truly matters. According to my Webster’s Ninth New Colligate Dictionary, “merry” suggests uninhibited enjoyment of frolic or festivity. Yet, often the activity of Christmas inhibits our enjoyment. Maybe we should dwell more on Christmas presence instead of Christmas presents.
Let me encourage you during this scared season to take a step back from pursuing a “Merry” Christmas to simply making the “merry” most of your Christmas by remembering the one true gift that came wrapped in swaddling clothes, flesh and bone. Then enjoy unwrapping that gift each day throughout the year! Thank you again Father, for your indescribable gift!
Making Merry right there with you!
Barbara
Ministry Partner/Pocket Full of Change
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