Every year it seems to start earlier and earlier. Not only are we bombarded with commercials for everything from diamonds to cars, but also the endless barrage of yummy foods that will surely not be healthy for us, or good for our waste line. These commercials suggest if we really love our spouse, family and friends, that we should be buying all of this stuff for them, In between the endless advertising for children’s toys, with another Big Pharma commercial mixed in, are the perpetual, guilt-producing promotions that suggest that we are gonna let a lot of people down if we don’t go broke, or dig a huge pit of debt for ourselves trying to make others happy.
While Christmas is about giving, and the joy that we can receive from doing so, it is good to recognize the Gift already given to us. When Love came down, when a King stepped down from His throne, to be wrapped in flesh and give us a Voice to listen to.
Even from His first cries, His mother was attentive. Many years later, thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands, would hang on His every word. His teaching challenged their traditional ways of loving others and caring for them. He flipped their ways of religious thinking on their ears and confronted their made-up human religion that had corrupted the way to Him. Their outward signs of doing good were not acceptable to Him and He told them so. Yet we do the same.
We try to show others our love this time of year by buying what they want. Toys that they will be done playing with as soon as the next present is opened. Big boy toys that will never fully be appreciated. The jewelry on fingers and hanging around necks, that lose their shine and luster as Christmas disappears and the letdown begins. Things that can never fully bring satisfaction, never fully satisfy.
Satisfaction does not always come by getting what we want. But it can come by getting what we need. What we may need this time of year is a clear recognition of the One who came to die for us and took our place on a cross of wood. This knowledge is the most incredible gift that we could ever receive and yet we often take it and set it aside for other material gifts. This year, why not hold onto it a little longer. Really look into the Gift and truly see the Value. How it can transform your life by its Truth, how it is the greatest Truth you can ever come to know. Christmas will never be the same when we open this Present. Everything will change and that would be a great thing.
While Christmas is about giving, and the joy that we can receive from doing so, it is good to recognize the Gift already given to us. When Love came down, when a King stepped down from His throne, to be wrapped in flesh and give us a Voice to listen to.
Even from His first cries, His mother was attentive. Many years later, thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands, would hang on His every word. His teaching challenged their traditional ways of loving others and caring for them. He flipped their ways of religious thinking on their ears and confronted their made-up human religion that had corrupted the way to Him. Their outward signs of doing good were not acceptable to Him and He told them so. Yet we do the same.
We try to show others our love this time of year by buying what they want. Toys that they will be done playing with as soon as the next present is opened. Big boy toys that will never fully be appreciated. The jewelry on fingers and hanging around necks, that lose their shine and luster as Christmas disappears and the letdown begins. Things that can never fully bring satisfaction, never fully satisfy.
Satisfaction does not always come by getting what we want. But it can come by getting what we need. What we may need this time of year is a clear recognition of the One who came to die for us and took our place on a cross of wood. This knowledge is the most incredible gift that we could ever receive and yet we often take it and set it aside for other material gifts. This year, why not hold onto it a little longer. Really look into the Gift and truly see the Value. How it can transform your life by its Truth, how it is the greatest Truth you can ever come to know. Christmas will never be the same when we open this Present. Everything will change and that would be a great thing.
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