I was opening my presents this morning and for possibly the first Christmas in my life, I started to think of the symbolism of what we do at Christmas. In church life we're always careful to make sure everyone realises the symbolism when they take communion yet I find we don't think so much about it at Christmas.
What do I mean? Well, I'll explain a bit further. As I unwrapped my presents I wasn't focussed on the gifts themselves. I didn't even think of the kings and the gifts that they brought. As I peeled the shiny paper from various items, I thought of Jesus, God's gift to humanity, His answer to our condition. The gift of God, wrapped in flesh and blood, held together not by some cheap sticky-tape but by the love of the Father.
The gift was free. There was no persuading God or twisting his arm. It was his agenda all along to extravagantly give this gift to us. It's our choice if we just leave him under the tree.
That's not just a reference to salvation, either. How many times do we bang our head against the wall, forgetting the Christmas present we got a few years back that could solve the situation? How often do we call on Jesus? How often do I call on Jesus? Not enough. Not nearly enough. I complain to him a great deal. I don't think that really counts, though. I just find myself sounding more and more like a bunch of people that ended up getting eaten by the desert this one time...
Let's all remember the value of what we've got at our disposal.
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4 comments:
Sorry 2 write again, at work, and my phone wont acess hotmail,bt i can view blogs. Anyways,recieved a book of devotionals for Christmas,and tdays one,was about t stars, and the conection with hope. One part reminded me of wot u shared bout t gift of Jesus. In t book,it talks about the 'hopes' God has for our lives, we (wel i) go on bout doin this n that for God, bt He thinks deeper, and has plans,dreams for our lives beyond my imagination. How cool is that! (rom 8 vs 28) Blessings as u unwrap All God has for ur life.
very very well written buddy
i agree: let's be sure to invite Jesus to his birthday celebrations
Hi Kenny,
I know totally what you mean - that is exactly how I felt this Christmas. Normally, I would be excited about the presents, but this year (even though I got given really nice presents), I was just so overwhelmed with feeling really grateful that I have Jesus.
Hope you have a great New Year!
Love Ash :)
Kenny,
Those are deep, profound, simple, beautiful and true thoughts. Thanks for sharing them...it captured an essence of this season in a whole new light.
Thanks! Happy New Year!
Linda
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