The December Challenge

 

December is here at last, this exciting, magical, sometimes overwhelming month we all love. Or do we?

December has much to offer, it's true. Even sleepy little towns are busy this time of year with concerts and children's programs, parties and parades. Every main street in the US is decorated. Every store promotes its seasonal sales. Delivery workers are so overburdened that, unfortunately, even enterprising porch pirates have many choices.

It's easy to become so wrapped up in the trappings of our modern day Christmas celebrations that we overlook the real meaning of this ubiquitous holiday. Even the word, Christmas, spells out the truth about the season: Christ's Mass was a worship service instituted about a thousand years ago, when Holy Communion was celebrated in commemoration of Jesus' birth. What started as a Christian feast day has somehow morphed into the extravaganza we continue to celebrate as Christmas. 

Perhaps you are feeling jaded about life in general or Christmas in particular. Maybe you are one of those cynical people who considers anything with a Christian label to be a fairy tale, at best. Maybe you are so consumed with grief or the burdens of everyday life that you want nothing to do with Christmas in any form. Or, perhaps you are so weary when you think about our world's current pandemic, questionable government decisions, and pervasive violence, that you just want to escape from it all. 

No matter your current state of mind this month, I have a challenge for you. This December, for your peace of mind, take five minutes each day to do two things. 

First, take time to learn about the true meaning of Christmas. Read one chapter from the Bible, in the book of Luke, each day until Christmas. If you don't own a Bible, you can easily download a free Bible app, such as YouVersion, onto your phone, or just google Luke Chapter 1 NLT, and the chapter will instantly appear on your computer, tablet, or phone.

Second, thank God for sending his greatest gift, Jesus. If you don't really know God, or if you aren't even sure that God is real, ask him, each day, to reveal himself to you. You don't have to pray some elaborate prayer. You can simply say something like, "God, please show me you are real," or "Show me how much you love me." I can guarantee that he will answer your prayer. What do you have to lose?

*******

A while back, I started thinking about all of the people I know who celebrate Christmas with a tree and presents, and maybe even attendance at some Christmas Eve candlelight service. And I began to wonder how many of them looked at God's greatest gift, Jesus, as just another temporary Christmas accessory. My musings led to a song. The words are written below, but you can also listen to it here.


Unmatchable Gift 

                                                    

He gave me a present for Christmas, all wrapped up, with a shiny bow,

And He joyfully told of the gift inside, everything He thought I should know.

He handed the present to me with care, and I held it, just for a minute.

Then I put it, unopened, there under my tree,

Because I already knew what was in it:

That wonderful, priceless, unmatchable gift that He had prepared for me.

           

And that’s where it stayed, from one week to the next,

Forgotten there, under the tree.

Because I didn’t care enough for the one who gave it to open it up and see

That wonderful, priceless, unmatchable gift that He had prepared for me.

 

I didn’t want it! I didn’t need it! But I kept it just in case…

Every year, I put it back under my tree, right there in the same old place,

That wonderful, priceless, unmatchable gift that He had prepared for me.

 

What good is a gift that’s unopened? What good is a song that’s unsung?

What good is a Savior unwelcomed? What good is the cross where He hung?         

Why sing of a babe in a manger, of Jesus, who took all my sin?

If I don’t want the most precious gift of them all, if I won’t let my Savior in—

That wonderful, priceless, unmatchable gift that He has prepared for me;

 

That wonderful, priceless, unmatchable gift that He has prepared for me;

 

That wonderful, priceless, unmatchable gift…


*******

And while they were there (in a stable in Bethlehem), the time came for (Mary's) baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.  Luke 2: 6--7


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