From swaddling clothes to a burial cloth
From the pain of birth to the pain of the cross
From a wooden feeding trough to a wooden cross
From an innocent baby to an innocent sacrifice
Jesus SPENT his life, in every sense of the word, to redeem ours. On who or what do we SPEND our lives?
This is an especially important question to reflect on during the often hectic Christmas season. Too often we put up our life sized Christmas trees, tuck our Nativity scenes on a shelf, and allow the birth of Christ to fade into the background.
What if the tradition were putting up a life size Nativity and tucking a small Christmas the on the shelf? Maybe changing Christmas traditions physically is not likely to happen, but we can guard against spending too much time filling the floor around the Christmas tree and allowing more time for activities that draw us to the message of the nativity.
The current sermon series at our church is "Socks and Underwear: Not what I want, But what I need." I don't need a big Christmas tree with expensive gifts stacked under it, but I do need the gift of the Nativity, the gift of Jesus, the many gifts of Jesus.
As Emmanuel, he is always with me
As the bread of life, he supplies my every need
As Prince of Peace, he gives me a peace that passes understanding
As friend, he has made known to me everything that he learned from his Father
As Redeemer, he re-purposes all my failings into character building and ministry to others
Let's resolve in our hearts this year to make room for life sized Nativities and shelf size Christmas trees!