As always, it has been quite a while since I last
posted. I always think about it
and all the things I would say when I post, but then I never end up doing
it! My bad. The funny thing is, I actually really
do not mind writing everything down, it is just getting myself to sit still
long enough to write a post. As I
am writing this, I am currently laying on the couch in my parents’ home on
Christmas day, after being up all night from being sick. Not exactly the way I planned on
spending Christmas morning.
Typically, we are up at the “crack of dawn” (aka 8:00) for our breakfast
of pancakes, bacon and sausage.
The one-day every year that all four of us sit down for breakfast
together. Also, the one-day a year
mom would bring bacon in the house.
This year I was actually planning on having the bacon too! Following breakfast, we typically do
our gifts as a family of four and part way through the morning, the family from
Jersey, and Pennsylvania arrives and it just becomes a great chaotic mess of
fun!
This year is going to be different. I knew as of yesterday afternoon that
it was going to be different. At
first, I was upset because I was going to miss my “traditional Christmas.” Then within two seconds of thinking
that negative thought, another thought popped into my mind. This is Christmas. This isn’t about tradition. It is about celebrating the birth of
Christ. It is about the fact that
God, the God of the universe, came down in human form just so that we will be
able to have our sins forgiven, so that we can have an amazing relationship
with Him (God). The more I thought
about it, the less important the “traditional Christmas” became and the more
excited I got about what Christmas really means.
As I’m sure you all know, I believe that there is one true
God. I believe that He created the
world, and His most prized possession in that beautiful creation is us
humans. He created each and every
one of us, and He loves ALL of us dearly!
He did not just create us and spend time planning out every detail of
who we are just to forget about us.
No, in fact, He created us to have a relationship with us. When you look at Genesis, before sin
entered the world, God spent time with Adam and Eve. They interacted with each other. They had a true connection. Unfortunately, sin did enter the world through choices made
by Adam and Eve. And because God
is Holy, sin cannot be near to Him.
It is like oil and water.
They cannot mix. This broke
His heart. Because of that sin, it
became impossible for humans to ever be able to have that true personal
relationship with Him, meaning that there was no chance for humans to be able
to come live with Him in Heaven.
But because God is love, He could not stand to be apart from His
children. So, here comes the true
meaning of Christmas, He sent down His Son to intervene for us! Jesus came to save us! He is the true super hero if there ever
was one. Forget Superman, who
needs him when you have Jesus! (No
offense if you’re a Superman person!)
Back in the times of the Old Testament, the first part of
the Bible, in order to ask for forgiveness for your sins, people had to
sacrifice animals. That is why
you’ll hear us Christians say that Jesus is the Living Sacrifice. Jesus became that final sacrifice so
that we no more had to live under the law of having to sacrifice animals for
forgiveness. We got much more out
of the deal than not having to kill animals! We got that relationship back with God! The moment Jesus died on the cross, the veil was torn in the
Tabernacle separating the Holy of Holies where only certain priests could go to
commune with God. That tear in the
veil symbolizes us being able to come to God no matter who we are, where we
are, or what we want to come to Him about. That, my friends, is the coolest thing ever!
Not only are we able to go to Him with
anything, because of His death on the cross, we are also able to have the Holy
Spirit live and reside within us.
The Holy Spirit is another amazing aspect of God. He is the link between us here on earth
and our Heavenly Father (God).
When the Holy Spirit comes to live within us, we are able to have that
connection again with God, like they had in the Garden of Eden. Not only are we able to talk to God,
but He also talks to us through the Holy Spirit! It is not always, nor is it commonly an audible voice, but
it can manifest in many different ways including strong feelings, getting a
verse in your mind, or song lyrics in your mind, or having an image come to
mind. All these things are common
ways, but not even close to a complete list of ways the Holy Spirit can be used
to communicate with us.
So what all does this have to do with Christmas again? Well, if it were not for Christmas,
none of this would have occurred.
Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of Christ! Since He came as a human, He did have
to have an actual birth! So, it is
the start of the greatest man who ever walked the face of the earth’s amazing
life. And it is definitely
something to be celebrated! It
should really be the biggest birthday bash you ever celebrate!
I realized when I was having those thoughts about bumming
about missing my “traditional Christmas” that I was celebrating tradition, not
the birth of my Savior! That
really hit me hard. I always would
say no, its not about the gifts for me, its about the family time, and everyone
getting together! But, it’s not
even about that if you do not take any time at all to celebrate Jesus and what
He did for us! I realized that I
had fallen completely into the world of the societal part of Christmas with the
Christmas trees, Santa, and gifts.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am not by any means saying that it is a bad
thing to join in on the festiveness of the societal part of the holiday. However, what I am saying is to not be
like me in that when that part gets taken away from you, it comes to your
attention that you feel like you have nothing more to celebrate. It should really be the opposite way
around, when you take out the Jesus part of Christmas; you have nothing more to
celebrate! Because that is the
truth! So, a challenge for me now
is to realign my thinking and really focus on Jesus and what He means to me
before anything else in life. It
really helps to de-clutter your life and your train of thought. So, praise the Lord for forgiveness and
for the fact that Christ came down to earth to die on the cross that we may
have forgiveness. I know I sure
need it!
Merry Christmas all!
