Christmas Eve

I have finished with my part of cleaning the house for the multitude of people who are evidently planning to eat here tomorrow, and open gifts from under the tree. We have met in this very room for years (since about 1983) now, and I am not sure there is an end in sight. Some of the kids, grandkids, friends of the grandkids, and other assorted guests will arrive early and stay late. I am so excited!! Not! Just kidding. . .Christmas is a wonderful time for all the people in our (my Bride and me) life to get together. Presents, eating too much great food, funny stories, current events, and family gossip will rule the day. I will survive. . .uhhhhhh. . . .

I have friends that don’t celebrate Christmas at all. They are of the mind that it is a man made festival that Believers would, should, could best avoid. I respect that. My Father was not a celebrater of Christmas, consequently, neither was I during those days. It was just another day on the farm and if nothing was happening at the Church house, we would be at work as usual.

So, what’s a fella (mom, offspring, friend) supposed to do? I believe celebrating is a good thing. It takes different forms, but, in the end, celebrations are focused on something wonderful (for the most part) and that is a good thing. . .Jesus was born, and that is the most magnificent gift ever given and when one combines it with wisdom and understanding – that He is Lord of all – and came to this Earth to redeem mankind from the curse of sin and death, that demands a celebration. All the other “stuff” surrounding this particular celebration, is just as attempt to demonstrate the llove that He IS, and that He bought to Earth.

We fall short when that is not the primary “reason for the Season.” What better time is there to make sure your family has come to faith in Christ? Do they know that redemption is theirs for the asking? Do they understand that the gathering of the Church family is a mandatory worship experience? Do they know the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth (Good’s Word, the Bible)? If not, maybe it is time to let up a bit on the celebration and spend much more  time praying, studying, intertwining our life with that of others in the family of God, and reaching out to to a dying World with the GOOD NEWS that Messiah has come!

Merry Christmas!!