Reclaim
Traditions. There are few greater family traditions handed down over generations than around the Christmas holiday. Singing Christmas carols, decorating, baking cookies, watching your favorite classic movie or maybe it is waiting for Santa to visit on Christmas Eve. What is your favorite tradition?
Over time these traditions change when they are not held close from one generation to the next. This causes change and a loss of the true meaning of Christmas. We live in a world today consumed with material items and having the next big thing. The Christmas spirit has hit the panic button. Are we moving on from caring about what Christmas means?
It is important that we realize what happened so many years ago in the small town of Bethlehem. There is Mary, a simple person, a teenager and wondering what was happening in her life. Then there was Joseph, a carpenter that did not have much money. Mary and Joseph could not afford a lamb to sacrifice for Jesus, what they did have was faith and obedience of our Lord to get them through this stressful time of their lives.
Finally, the setting was something that was less than desired. Bethlehem was a small town, but there were no rooms for Mary and Joseph. People were too busy to truly understand the magnitude of what was happening. Jesus, the son of God, was born in a manger. The delivery room had cows, sheep, camels, oxen and no cozy blanket for the babe to lay on. Jesus’ birth was not a glamorous entrance into the world as one would expect when a King was born. Local news stations were not there outside the room and no social media posts were made after delivery. It can be said that the son of God was brought into the world in no limelight, but in weakness.
Is it important to take note the lack of support and acknowledgement Jesus received or just a coincidence? Jesus being born as he was truly shows the power of God. We read in 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak then I am strong.
The Bible teaches us that life can and will involve hardship, even for those who are faithful. What we can do though is have faith and stay true in our faith. It is during the times of weakness that brings us closest to God. Can you identify something you are going through today or this year where you feel weak, a loss of control, or stuck in a hardship? God has everything that we need. He can guide us through our times of weakness when we let him.
Like Jesus, we do not need to have a grand entrance into the world, the most money, best pictures or greatest gifts to bring us the greatest joy of Christmas. Instead, we have to truly take ourself out of Christmas and find the true meaning. Love and Jesus.
In John 10:10 it states “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”
This reminds us of a quote about Christmas from Agnes Pharo. It states, “What is Christmas? It is the tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace."
May we always treat the past with tenderness and learn from it. We must have courage for the present and face what we are going through. Lastly, we must never forget to have hope for the future. Jesus is that hope and we must cling to that hope.
When we do this, we see the true meaning of Christmas. We reclaim that holiday spirit by being surrounded by family and friends. We need to not be too busy to miss what so many people did that night in Bethlehem when unto us a child was born.
Merry Christmas!
XOXO
Mark and Megan