(This is the 4th
of a 4 part series on “Memories of Christmas”.)
John 1:1-14
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have
seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father,
full of grace and truth. NIV
The
Christmas story is so familiar that there’s a tendency to become immune to the
amazing, miraculous story of the birth of Jesus; of the word made flesh. A
tendency to be untouched by the truth of it all.
For
many, Christmas is built on traditions. Within those traditions, there are many
variations. For instance, do you put a star or an angel on the top of your tree?
Do you open presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas day? Do you serve ham or
turkey for Christmas dinner?
In
addition, from about Thanksgiving until Christmas, and even the days following,
when you fight the crowds returning gifts, your schedule can be very hectic.
There’s office parties, church activities, family gatherings, buying gifts, wrapping
gifts, getting a picture of your kids with Santa and so on.
Between
the hectic pace, the commercialism and the routine, it’s easy to lose track of
the reason for the season. So, how do you keep Christ in Christmas? What can
you do next year to not lose track of what Christmas is truly about?
On
a couple of occasions, our family attended some unique Christmas programs that
helped
me to keep my focus. One such program was The Living Christmas Tree. Produced
by a large local church, their choir would sing while standing on a 30 foot man-made
Christmas tree. The program was complete with live animals and a real live baby
Jesus.
Sometimes
though, everyday life can remind us of the reality of Christmas. On December
14, my third grandchild was born - Josephine. She sat in her Mommy’s tummy for
nine months until the time was right. Now she’s a beautiful baby girl that
cries, eats and needs clean diapers.
Another
program that we attended was called the Road to Bethlehem. There were various
stations throughout the church with shepherds, wise men and Roman soldiers that
lead up to the stable where Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus were. I still
remember the baby crying when we entered the room. It was a real life reminder
that Jesus was a baby just like this one.
Sometimes
though, everyday life can remind us of the reality of Christmas. On December
14, my third grandchild was born - Josephine. She sat in her Mommy’s tummy for
nine months until the time was right. Now she’s a beautiful baby girl that
cries, eats and needs clean diapers.
Jesus
was the same way. He sat in his Mommy’s tummy for nine months and then was
born. But before that, He was the Word of God. And the word of God was made
flesh at just the right time.
(If
God has spoken to you through this blog, please feel free to share the link
with others on social media.)
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