There’s something inexplicably thrilling about opening a gift, isn’t there? I don’t know about you, but for me, usually the gift itself can’t compare to the feeling of anticipation, wondering what’s on the other side of that beautiful wrapping paper and sparkling bow.
A wrapped gift speaks of possibility. It speaks of love. There’s something to a gift, more than just slapping a few bills into a card. When you give a gift, you have to know the person you are giving to pretty well if you hope for a gift that pleases. You have to think about their personality and their tastes when you’re selecting the gift. And then comes the labor of love – folding and wrapping the paper, taping it down, fixing every wrinkle, taping again, tying a ribbon, sticking on a bow. Time and effort are required for giving a gift, and it is the time and effort that appeals to me when I anticipate opening a gift. My heart rejoices that my gift giver chose to spend so much time and effort on me.
In Luke 2, we find the story of some lowly shepherds who received a surprising gift of their own.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
On that Christmas day, long ago, these shepherds received news of the greatest gift imaginable. God the Father had just sent His Son, the Messiah, to redeem a fallen people. Even as He sent Jesus to us, He knew the pain His Son would experience on the cross. Talk about time, effort, and labor of love.
God’s love for us was wrapped up that night in a baby lying in manger. This Christmas, let your own gift giving and receiving remind you of the greatest gift of all.
What is the most meaningful Christmas gift you’ve received? How does the love represented in that gift remind you of God’s love?
For most of my life, my family’s Christmas tradition has been the same. On Christmas Eve, the whole extended family would head to my maternal grandparents’ house. We would spend a few hours eating and catching up with one another. At some point in the evening, my grandma, Nana, would complain that we had run out of an essential item–for example, milk or toilet paper. My grandpa, Papa, would volunteer to go out to the store and get some.
The night would continue, and we children would begin to get antsy to open our presents. “Wait just a few more minutes; we have to wait for Papa to get back from the store,” we’d be reminded by whichever parent, aunt, or uncle was in earshot. Our impatience mounted, and we continued playing and talking, trying to take our minds off the goodies waiting under the tree.
Suddenly, we would hear a noise on the roof, and Nana would exclaim, “I think I hear Santa on the roof!” We would run to the window and try to catch a glimpse of Santa and his reindeer. While we were searching, a loud knock would sound from the door downstairs. One of the adults would open the door, and our hearts would leap with nervous excitement as we heard Santa booming, “Ho, ho, ho, I heard there was a Christmas party going on here!”
Santa would be escorted to the living room, where each child would take turns sitting on his lap. As little children, we were intimidated by Santa’s presence and rarely chatted with him for long, but we also felt great wonder and pride that Santa had chosen to visit us. After each child had a turn with Santa, he would leave and the adults would finally let us open our presents.
In the midst of the chaotic present opening, Papa would return from the store. “Papa, you missed Santa!” we would exclaim. We were so excited about opening our gifts that we never stopped to remember that we were supposed to wait to open presents until Papa came back from the store. I suppose the adults forgot too in the midst of the chaos.
For years, I felt so sorry that Papa always just missed seeing Santa and being there for gift opening. How ironic that every year we HAD to have something from the store at just that moment!
As I grew older, I realized that perhaps it was a little too ironic that Papa missed Santa each year. I really put two and two together when I noticed the physical similarities between Papa and Santa. (Both had long, white beards and bellies that shook when they laughed, like bowls full of jelly.)
Two years ago, my Papa passed away after a long battle with a brain tumor. Christmas hasn’t been the same since his passing. No one can fill the boots and suit of Santa like he could. I suppose the children of our family must think Santa has been too busy to visit us lately.
In spite of the sadness that we feel more acutely around this time of the year, when the absence of Papa and Santa are so glaringly obvious, we continue to make a point of meeting together as a family on Christmas Eve. Last year, the electricity went out at Nana’s, so we opened presents by oil lamplight. Who knows what adventures await us this year?
How has your family celebrated Christmas? Do you find your traditions evolving over the years, as loved ones come and go?
For many of us, my family included, the Christmas season can be a painful reminder of what we have lost. We should never feel discouraged from mourning for lost loved ones. But at the same time, it’s important to remember to place our hope in Christ and the resurrection we share with Him, even as we share in His death and suffering.
I’m glad that my family has chosen to keep the heart of our Christmas tradition the same. Relationships with one another are still important, and we honor Papa’s memory by gathering together in love. Rather than dwelling in a place of despair, we celebrate life–the new life brought into our family through births and marriages, the life experienced in our fellowship with one another, and the life of a precious Baby born so that death might no longer have the final word.
Here in Chicago, we had a late start to winter weather. Over the past week, as the snow has fallen, the ice has formed, and the roads have become treacherous at times, I can feel the dread creeping over me. Winter is cold, barren, depressing, and long here in the Midwest. Once again, I find myself wondering why I haven’t moved to a warmer climate.
Several years ago, I was driving home from work when I stopped to get a drink from a fast food drive-through. I was having a horrible day. I can’t remember why, but I do remember it was the dead of winter, and I’m sure that wasn’t helping my attitude. I pulled into a parking space to take some time to pour out my heart to Jesus.
As I complained about all the unfairness in my life and how I felt so inadequate and broken, the Lord caught my attention. I stopped complaining and looked ahead through my car window. There, in front of me, on the edge of the fast food parking lot, I saw a little tree. All of its branches were stripped of leaves. The tree looked pathetic and ugly. I felt the Lord speaking to me in that moment, “You feel like this tree. It’s winter in your life right now, and you don’t have enough. Your branches are empty and dead. You feel pathetic and ugly. But that is not how I see you. In Christ, you are always a tree in full bloom. It is summer for you. You are not empty and dead, even when you feel like it.”
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As I imagined that same tree in bloom, full of life, and realized that in Christ, God viewed me as alive and thriving, I felt so encouraged. My eyes teared up and I praised God that He had provided salvation and abundant life, even in the midst of difficult circumstances. Even though the world around me may have been in a season of dark, cold winter, inside I was alive and growing in Christ.
Do you live in an area that experiences winter? If you’ve started to feel how short and cold the days are, be encouraged that summer is coming again. Have you felt like you are in a spiritual winter lately? Are you wondering how your cold and broken soul is going to make it through difficult circumstances? Remember that in Christ, you are more than a conqueror. You are alive, and through His Spirit, you can thrive in any circumstance. There are days when it will hurt, when your “tree” will feel dead, but remember that is not the final outcome. Allow God to open the eyes of your heart to see your true status in Christ.
“When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?‘ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:54-57
For some Christians, plugging in at a local church is a breeze. Perhaps their family has been attending a certain church for generations. They are well-known and loved in the church family. They are fed nourishing truths of God and have ample opportunity to serve others. Other Christians came to know Christ in the context of a great church and have never needed to look for fellowship anywhere else. From the moment they entered the building, they were embraced by the local body of Christ.
For some of us, though, finding and staying committed to a local church has been a great challenge in our faith life. We know that we’re called to meet together (Hebrews 10:24-25), but it just hasn’t been easy for us. Maybe we’ve been committed to a local church, but experienced terrible hurt or betrayal that left us with a bitter taste for local church involvement. Or maybe we have such high standards for the ideal local church that we’ve searched and searched for “just the right place” only to come up empty. After years of searching and feeling that nothing fits, perhaps we’ve grown weary and decided to settle for the fellowship of informal gatherings with Christian friends and participation in large, distant communities of faith like Inspired Faith.
As a mediator of online faith community, I certainly don’t want to give the impression that Inspired Faith is nothing more than a cheap substitute for involvement in a local church. I know how powerfully God can communicate through daily devotions, Facebook notes, tweets, and blog posts. Surrounding ourselves with life-giving truths of God is important in all dimensions of our lives. If we’re going to be online, we need to make sure that some of our online content is driving us toward a deeper relationship with God. There are times in our lives when we feel alone, afraid, or depressed, and having online inspiration instantly accessible is key to hearing God’s word in those situations.
That being said, I wouldn’t be honestly sharing God’s word with you if I didn’t highlight the importance of being part of a local community of believers. We see beautiful examples of believers living in community throughout the book of Acts, and we have a specific directive in Hebrews to not give up meeting together, “as some are in the habit of doing.”
Maybe you’re finding yourself in that place where sleeping in on Sunday mornings has become a habit. Maybe you’re finding it near impossible to drag yourself to a church on Wednesday or Thursday or Saturday night. There are so many competing demands in life, and let’s face it–dealing with the imperfections inevitable in any local church may not seem worth the trouble.
But engaging in a local body of believers is essential to our spiritual growth for many reasons. As I already mentioned, it’s worth doing first and foremost because it’s an act of obedience to the Lord. But I think there are some practical reasons why the writer of Hebrews directs us to meet together regularly.
Being a part of a local church provides us with opportunities to serve in our communities.
It forces us to take one or two days out of each week to be around other believers, to worship God, to hear His word preached, and to be reminded to fix our eyes on what is unseen in much of our daily lives.
Even conflicts and shortcomings in local churches are opportunity for our growth in Christ. Remember, churches are full of broken, sinful people being formed into the image of Christ. It might seem like some leaders or church members are beyond redemption. But maybe, God is calling you to reach them. Even if you can’t change their minds or soften their hearts, as a member of a church, you always have authority to intercede on behalf of your church and ask God to bring healing and spiritual fruit to even the most bitter situations.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4 TNIV
Being committed to a local church is not easy, but it is one of the best places for God to grow us through trials. As we persevere in prayer, in love, and in service we become mature and complete in Christ. Let us not give up meeting together!
Have you faced trials and discouragement being part of a local church? Have you gone through periods of spiritual isolation, when it was easier to go it alone than to be engaged in a church body? How has God used your involvement in a local church to mature you?
There’s something inexplicably thrilling about opening a gift, isn’t there? I don’t know about you, but for me, usually the gift itself can’t compare to the feeling of anticipation, wondering what’s on the other side of that beautiful wrapping paper and sparkling bow.
For most of my life, my family’s Christmas tradition has been the same. On Christmas Eve, the whole extended family would head to my maternal grandparents’ house. We would spend a few hours eating and catching up with one another. At some point in the evening, my grandma, Nana, would complain that we had run out of an essential item–for example, milk or toilet paper. My grandpa, Papa, would volunteer to go out to the store and get some.
