Refocus Your Heart for the Holidays
“And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.” Luke 2:20.
We certainly have a plethora of options competing for our attention during the Christmas season. When I was growing up in NY, my favorite thing to do was to go into the city and see the amazing window decorations at Macy’s and Saks Fifth Avenue. Throngs of people would wander through lines marveling at the creativity and ingenuity of the designers. All over the world, people come out to witness the lighting of trees, see favorite holiday shows like The Nutcracker, we curl up on our couches watching our favorite holiday movies. We spend heaps of time and money shopping for our friends and family, so excited to give the perfect gift. Cookies are baked, stockings are hung, carols are sung, our bellies are a little extra filled as we gather together in celebration. These are all good things that spread joy and warm our hearts, but apart from Christ they are just traditions that will leave us wanting. As the shepherds returned from seeing Jesus glorifying and praising God, we as Christians should use every opportunity to glorify God through our traditions at Christmastime.
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:1
One of the amazing things about the grace of God is that it covers every aspect of our lives. When we are intentional about our traditions and not mindlessly going through the motions, they become an act of worship.
The Christmas tree we put up, while it may have originated in pagan roots, becomes a reminder of God’s steadfast, redeeming love. Its triangular shape reminds us of the trinity, the star on top pointing us to the birth of Christ, the ornaments a reminder of God’s blessings and faithfulness through the years.
We witness tree lightings remembering that the light of the world has been born! We have been living in darkness, hopeless and lost, but Jesus has come to rescue us! We declare to the world that we believe in this light and that good news is to be heard within our walls as we put up our farolitos and wrap our tress and bushes in lights.
We remember the gift we received so freely from the Lord, so undeserving, and we give gifts to each other freely, not because they have been earned by good behavior, but because we want to reflect the ultimate giver, for “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17). Knowing this, we don’t need to be rude to cashiers or rush through lines in stores trying to beat everyone else, we don’t need to go into debt giving what we do not have, we give joyfully from what we do have knowing that the best gifts come from God himself.
Our family meals become a celebration of the birth of Jesus, our God taking on human flesh to come and save us. We glorify God through uncomfortable family meals, where the tension is thick and bitterness lingers in the air, by offering forgiveness and grace to those who have hurt us. We ask forgiveness from those who we have hurt. We pursue in love those we feel separated from the way Jesus pursued us in love when he came to live on this earth. We pray prayers of thanksgiving, glorifying and praising God for all we have seen and heard. We may be alone, feeling unloved and forgotten by those we see day to day, but we make a meal anyway, worshipping the God who sees us always (Genesis 16:13). We invite others who may be alone over, imitating Jesus by being a friend of sinners. We celebrate and enjoy these moments that give us a foretaste of the celebration we will have with Jesus in heaven when he comes again.
We can get so lost in what we do during the Christmas season that we lose sight of the glorious truth that we are celebrating. “An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’” (Luke 2:9-14).
There is great joy, my friends, may the glory of God shine throughout your Christmas season.
