I wish I could freeze this moment. All is quiet; I am sitting in front of the fireplace by the Christmas tree; the snow is falling outside. My girls are getting ready for family pictures and then a Christmas Eve service where we will reflect on God’s gift to mankind through His Son Jesus. Meanwhile half a world away in a hot and sticky climate, I know there is a get-together planned in the Patpatar tribe among the believers. One of the Bible teachers has been preparing a message to share about the birth of Christ.
Being out of the country for so long I had forgotten the crowds and commercialism that surrounds the Christmas season here in the States. I had forgotten how much tradition and fanciful tales were elevated and how the true Christmas story was demoted and despised. So in a world where the gifts have replaced the Gift and Father Christmas has more influence than the Father of Christmas, it is nice to pause in the quietness of this moment to consider what the multitudes of heavenly hosts were praising God about and join them in their song.
May you and yours enjoy some tradition and have fun, but most of all may you “see the thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about” and may you “spread the word concerning what had been told [us] about his child.” (Luke 2:15,17)
Merry Christmas!
Aaron