SOME THOUGHTS ON CHRISTMAS
/Christmas tends to bring a mixed bag of feelings to people. for some, Christmas is filled with high levels of anticipation and excitement as one looks forward to family dinners, church services, baking, decorations, lights, etc… for others Christmas time tends to be filled with anxiety, stress, and depression. the days are shorter. the weather is colder. the family is non-existent…
i tend to relate more to the former. i get excited to bake and decorate and buy gifts for people. i get caught up in watching Christmas specials and eat way too many sweets. but i also have some not so fond Christmas memories…fights with siblings. that family member continually commenting on my second helping of dinner. the first Christmas after my parents separated…
if i’m not careful, i can either find myself being consumed with commercialistic Christmas or caught up in dark moments of Christmas past…
neither of these perspectives are healthy. i’m thankful for God’s truth that brings us into a clear perspective. i stumbled upon this beautiful verse a few summers ago. it sheds some serious light on the true meaning of Christmas.
it’s a prophetic word proclaimed by John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah. John the Baptist had just been born (which was a miracle in itself because his parents were old and had been trying for a looong time!) and Zechariah starts praising God and prophesying (by the way, he hadn’t been able to speak, so him speaking was a miracle as well… just go and read Luke 1!!) i can just picture Zechariah holding and smiling down at his long awaited son…
"And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord. You will tell his people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins.
Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”
-Luke 1:78-79
Jesus coming to earth is what Christmas is about. He came to give LIGHT to those who sit in darkness and guide us all to the path of PEACE. now that is what Christmas is about. hope and peace and JESUS. isn’t it wonderful that Jesus came for both those who are caught up in Christmas craziness and those who want to push it all away? He came to bring you peace. He came to bring light to your dark situation.
my prayer is that for a few moments this Christmas season, you would push aside the eggnog lattes, the gifts, the baking, the dwelling on Christmases past, the negativity, the loneliness and grab your Bible and sit. read Luke 1 and let verses 78-79 sink into your soul. allow God’s truth to wash over you. let His light come into the darkest parts of your mind. let His peace fill every single part of you. and then read luke 2 and be in awe of God’s great gift for you.
xoxo,
s.s.♥.
