2024 1222 Christmas
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Christmas is a time of promise
promise of better things to come
reward for being part of family
plenty of good food and great presents
well maybe some great presents
yet our celebration of Christmas is a pale imitation
the real Christmas promise is deeply connected with Jesus
Jesus and Christmas
we know that Jesus came to earth as a baby
God becoming man
in order to redeem and reconcile man back to God
Jesus sacrifices himself - became the gift of life to all of mankind
so how do we approach Christmas as Christians
we do much of this already
Christmas for Christians
this is difficult to navigate for us
Jesus we know is the reason
the world has created its own take of Christmas - santa, white snow, family time and pressies
so how do we do Christmas while highlighting Jesus
we need to promote the positive promises of Jesus coming
Positive Promises
peace and goodwill found by us being in Jesus
we do not have to be good to receive
the gift of Jesus was conceived out of love
this love is absolute and pure
we believe in this gift of jesus, we give because of this love
it is our motivation to give purely out of love
Promote Jesus
the fulfilment of Christmas - this gift of life came at Easter
it is good to celebrate
the giving of gifts, the festive cheer, the family connections
these are important components of our society, our culture
yet ensure that it comes from a heart after Jesus
for this gives Christmas eternal meaning
for this gives a sound foundation for us to live
A Final Word
But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
we make Christmas for children
this is a good thing
Jesus knew that children were just as entitled to go to him
this is reflected in our Christmas practices
Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
yet we should all be like little children
this is a time to reset
to accept the simple things of Jesus
to receive the wonders of being in Christ
being loved by him
we are truly blessed
we celebrate CHristmas with the rest of our society
yet we have this deeper joy of knowing the precious gift of life
life that is only available through Jesus
