Thursday, December 18, 2008

Christmas Time Is Here


It's that time of year again. The time where Jack Frost loves to come out and touch our outer extremities, and where pine needles clog up our vacuum cleaners.

And it's also the time where we stop and remember our Saviors birth. I'm very guilty of logging that fact into the back of my mind, and recalling it whenever need be, in order to prove that I really do know the true spirit of Christmas. Funny, that reminds me of a well told story. Jesus was born in a stinky manger found in a dirty, stinky stable outside of Bethelehem. Why? Well, there was no room for him in the inn. I can remember thinking when I was a kid that I'd never be as mean as that mean old innkeeper. Who does he think he is, keeping Mary and baby Jesus out in that place when they could have a good room in an inn?

Then the correlation hits me. This last week, at our CTI Christmas party, Chris Reed shared with us a message that had meant a lot to him. And really all I'm doing is translating the message in my own words. The Bible is the Living Word of God, and it can teach us at any time, and this story reminded me this week of the fact that I am very much like the innkeeper. Christ is too often pushed into the corners of my life because I have a great "business" going on in the rest of me that can't be replaced with anything else, or at least I believe the lie that the business is good.

I want to wish you all an incredibly Merry Christmas, as I have told all the various answering machines that I had the pleasure of talking to during our Annual Campaign partnership drive these last two weeks. And I want to encourage you to remember the parts of Christmas. Christ-mas. "Mas" in Spanish means "more". So, therefore, this word means "Christ more" or "more Christ". At least it means that in my head. Let's put Christ where he belongs, in the center. Not in the stables.

So have yourselves Merry Little Christmases, one and all. For He, who was very God of very God, decided to love us enough to put Himself into tiny, frail, human form. Then He loved us enough to teach us how to live as humans, and then, He provided for us the Way that we could LIVE as children of God. Now that sacrifice is cause enough for joy throughout eternity. Let's show that joy now. To our family, friends, and all who we meet in this awesome season.

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