A Proper Christmas

Luke 2:25-32 

            A proper celebration of Christmas originates with understanding the reason Jesus came.  That beautiful and innocent baby came to offer His life to buy our deliverance from sin and its penalty.  When you understand His reason for coming and have the proper attitude about it all, then and only then can you truly celebrate Christmas.

            I have sometimes been accused of not possessing the Christmas Spirit.  I am no Ebenezer Scrooge.  I have no problem with making merry and celebrating so long as everything is kept in its proper perspective.  There is a story that illustrates the point I am trying to make.  It is an excerpt taken from the daily journal of a young pastor’s wife.  Times were especially hard on the American frontier in the 1820’s. 

This morning’s message is about giving.  God was first to give gifts to men and are we to be faithful to the tradition of Christmas we must follow His example.  Christmas giving began in a time when many people felt blessed if their bellies were even half full.  Loving husbands and fathers did their best to meet the family’s needs.  Hardworking wives and mothers used everything they could lay their hands on to stretch meager resources.  Once a year they celebrated God’s greatest Gift to mankind by doing their best to give something special to those they loved.

God has blessed us greatly.  Times are not so hard or so lean.  In consequence we have expanded our gift list to include any number of family, friends, and acquaintances.  The gifts are always nice but they seldom mean anything!  Think of what prosperity has cost us.  We’ve forgotten how to love one another and we’ve given up our time together so that we can have more things.  Our gifts today cost more but are worth far less!

 Give These Gifts:

·        More of your time - Spent in conversation and reminiscing

·        More of your attention - Gifts and money are easy

·        More of your respect - It is nice to build people up

I recall the weeks leading up to Christmas when I was a boy.  Dad had one day a week off and he would spend that day delivering sides of beef and pork to make extra money for Christmas.  Mom sewed, patched, washed, and did without to make ends meet and to insure a little extra money for Christmas.  I don’t remember any extravagance but neither do I recall any disappointment.  My attitude about Christmas changed the year dad had his heart attack.  I was 17 years old and suddenly it became my responsibility to meet my family’s needs.  I quickly came to understand how blessed we kids had been!

 Giving expensive and numerous gifts can never replace  gifts of time, love, respect, and responsibility.  I realize more every year that what my parents gave me was far more valuable than the money they spent at Christmas.