Well, here it is again! That time that is named after Christ and when everyone rushes around doing things they wouldn't think of at any other time of the year.
Suddenly I have to communicate with all the people who haven't heard from me for a whole year - I love that we stay in touch, but why don't I do it at other times to show that I really do care ... all the time.
Suddenly I find myself fighting my way through hoards of frenzied shoppers who all look stressed and tired, to buy presents for those who buy presents for me - in the process I blow the budget, and then stress out about how to find bargains for those extra gifts for the people I forgot would buy gifts for me.!
I have stayed up half the night waiting for the Christmas cakes to bake, because I didn't get organised enough to do them earlier, and then I have got up early the next day to be out before the other stressed shoppers to fill the cupboards with food, etc. etc.
So, here we are nearing Christmas and I am sitting here wondering what on God's earth does HE think about all this?
If I sound cynical, that is not the intention ... but I do want to make myself think about what I am doing, why I am doing it, and why on earth would I want to feel this tired without very good reason. :)
I remember that God took a man and a woman on a journey with a donkey (not your fastest means of transport) and brought them finally to a destination without having arranged any accommodation in the usual flash hotels. I wonder how they felt when all that was going was that stable full of animals and straw.
What on earth would Joseph and Mary think of today's carry on?
A little baby came into the earth; the angels, shepherds and wise men had encounters that have never been forgotten ... heaven touched earth in a very humble place, and the whole of history was changed in an instant.
Could we maybe change some things? Could we perhaps simplify everything we do, and move quietly and without fuss around our houses and work for a few days? Maybe we could sit still and quiet in the night hours and look for the star, and wait for the heavens to speak to us again of the wonderful love and hope God has given us.
2000 and more years later could we just possibly stop and think, and REALLY take hold of all that was handed to us that night.
Lord may our hearts, minds and lives be touched again with your love and promises. Would you let the heavens pour forth speech that resounds over the nations that are suffering with war, terror, and famine. Would you remind us that we have had the greatest gift of all time, and let us sit in awe and wonder at what you have done for us, that we might be still for a moment and KNOW that you are God.
"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.
God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.
John 3:16&17 The Message.
No comments:
Post a Comment