The lights and decorations have been put away... the Christmas tree is already down at our house. We usually put things up in early December and take them down right after the 25th... and this year was no exception. Christmas is over. Christmas is over?! No, Christmas is not over! It is just starting! In fact, we should be celebrating the birth of Christ year round. I look at the day after Christmas as the 'beginning'. While the Christmas hymns are still being sung in my head; while the accounts of the wise men and shepherds still fill my imagination; while visions of the Christ child lying in the manger still bring warmth to my heart - that is when we take our Christmas decorations down. Not because we are scrooges, but because we like to get back to the 'routine' while all of those thing are consuming our thoughts.
It all may sound a bit odd. But today as I looked around the house with barely a wreath or ornament, I pondered the gifts that the wise men brought to the newborn Savior. Without pieces of wrapping paper or sparkling tinsel, I was able to clearly imagine in my mind what must have been going through the wise men's minds as they brought gifts of gold, frankincense, myrrh. These were expensive gifts. These gifts were no left-over boxes of chocolate. The wise men assuredly thought about what would be the most appropriate gifts to give to the babe that would grow up to save mankind from their sin-sick condition.
What would I give MY Savior if I were to give him a gift, I thought? Without staring at a Christmas tree dressed in twinkling lights, it dawned on me what to give... I need to give my Savior the same thing that the wise men gave: that which costs much. With the nativity scene and the pine garland back in the boxes, I realized that TIME and TALENT is very costly. When time is wrongly spent, it is gone. When talents are wrongly spent, they are wasted. Maybe I could start using my TIME for Jesus! It could be more Bible study and prayer, or time invested at our church or sharing the gospel. What about my TALENTS? What am I good at? I am good at different things than my wife, my sons, my daughter and probably everyone else around me... so I should be a better steward of those talents that God has given to me. Since we are all unique, we have different gifts given to us by our Creator - gifts we can offer back to Him! What a great Christmas gift for us to give! There is no Christmas letdown in our house, Christmas has only just begun.
No comments:
Post a Comment