I love Christmas time! Decorating, baking cookies, wrapping gifts, writing cards, these are all things that are down my alley. You may like one or more parts of these things, but I wouldn’t blame you if you thought they were frivolous. I think they are in part.. sometimes it feels wonderful, other times it feels useless, and depending on your circumstances, stressful. To be honest, I love decorating because I’m a feeler; an artist. Aesthetics appeal to me, they make my heart feel happy. They don’t fulfill my hearts desires though.
Everyone celebrates Christmas differently, some more simply than others, some more extravagantly. Whatever the way, I think we can all agree that the most important focus of the season is our precious Lord Jesus, the baby Savior, who was and is still, the greatest gift of all. I can’t give enough gratitude for a Savior who has paid for my sins, which I am so aware of get the best of me. My heart is overwhelmed.
We had a Sunday School lesson this past week talking about the baby Jesus, and there was mention of Simeon, a devout servant of the Lord who held the hope in his heart for a Savior to come. He waited for most of his life for this sign of the consolation of Israel, in which he earnestly hoped, and when he finally saw the Christ child, he felt his work on earth was done.
“Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
“Lord, now you are letting your servant[d] depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.””
I don’t remember hearing much about this man in the bible, but it really impressed upon me. The Jews waited for centuries for their Messiah to come and some of those people didn’t see that fulfilled in their lifetime!
I think that often we, in our small scopes of eternity see the world as the start and finish of our own lives. We expect God to start and complete a story within our lifespans, however some of the greatest stories did not happen this way. For instance, the sending of a Savior. Could you imagine living “pre-Savior” / “pre-Holy Spirit,” making sacrifices at the temple, trying to fulfill the law on your own accord! Can you imagine holding onto a cultural belief that a prophesy would be fulfilled, though it hadn’t for centuries.
What would keep you going? There was definitely a supernatural hope there – something I am learning so much about this year, but there is something else I’d like to point out that made the gift so sweet – Anticipation.
The reason we “wrap presents” and don’t just set things in someones lap, is for anticipation! Admit it, you love it too as an adult! The gifts sit under the tree for a period and finally on Christmas morning you choose which one to open first, you shake it and then tear off the paper (and for some the saga continues…. taped boxes, disguises, tissue paper) then – the “Ah moment.” There it is!
It’s a holding breath kind of moment.
Was it everything you hoped for? Did the person giving, know you way better than you thought? Did it blow you out of the water? Maybe not? haha. These are the kinds of Gifts that God gives though.
He does. For some the anticipation period is longer than others. I pray though, that the anticipation makes the gift that much greater. If you’re feeling sad this Christmas, I pray that the Lord ministers to you and reminds you that He is preparing a place in your heart for a beautiful gift.
“Yes, still today we serve a promise keeping God who fulfills everything He says He will do in His way and in His time. Though the Jews had waited for centuries for the Messiah to come, God kept that promise and sent a Deliverer to His people. We can count on Him to do for us what He has promised as well – to never leave us or forsake us, to save us, and to give us an eternal home with Him.”
I dragged my comforter and pillow downstairs to sleep under the tree light tonight. Yes, it's magical. :)
So go ahead, wrap those gifts, hang up that garland, light those candles – because anticipation is part of the beautiful process!
God is Good.
Merry Christmas from me to you!
