What do we celebrate?
I stood in a long line at a store this week waiting with at least a hundred other people to purchase gifts for loved ones and food for parties all to celebrate Christmas---the most wonderful time of the year! But as I stood there amongst the impatient, griping and even angry customers, I thought to myself: Is this really the most wonderful time of the year?
I pondered this idea for the past several days and became extremely convicted by a new perspective: Do we celebrate Christmas as the most wonderful time of the year because it brings self-gratification and selfish fulfillment with temporary happiness OR do we truly celebrate the eternal freedom that was given through the birth of Jesus coming as our Savior? If we didn't have anything to give or receive, would we still celebrate Christmas?
A stark reality check hit me in the face this week as I sat with several families and people who had lost everything in the Woolsey Fire a month ago. From a material perspective, they had nothing to celebrate this Christmas because they lost most of their material possessions. But from an eternal perspective, several of them saw this Christmas as a new opportunity to think about the birth of Jesus and this holiday with a whole new perspective. Their joy and gratefulness in the midst of pain and loss convicted me to the core.
If we had no gifts to give or receive, how would we celebrate this Christmas? If we only had the sheer fact that Jesus came to this evil world to give His innocent life for our sins, how would we think about Christmas and even our own life differently?
The poor, filthy shepherds were the first ones invited by angels to worship the Messiah. They weren't invited because they could bring Jesus gold, silver or other expensive gifts fit for a king. They were invited because they had nothing to give but their worship and praise and their devotion.
"When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, 'Let's go to Bethlehem! Let's see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.' They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds' story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them" (Luke 2:15-20 NLT).
I love to give gifts and bring joy to people around me, but I pray that Jesus will give me a new perspective this Christmas---an eternal perspective that will worship Him and give Him more of my attention than the materialism around me, and in the midst of my worship love those around me so they can gain a greater perspective of God's love. That is what I want to celebrate.
