Recently, I had a revelation that took me through a series of thoughts and lead me to this conclusion: Christmas is an idol in my heart.
When thinking about Christmas time I always think about spending time with family and friends. I love Christmas movies, Christmas music, Christmas decorations and Christmas food. But, the thing that I truly treasure at Christmas time is the time we spend with family. I don’t care what we do. I just love for everyone to be together. Typically, what I love most is spending time around the fire on Christmas Eve, sipping my mom’s world famous hot cocoa, and sharing in the joy of being together. Then piling in the car to look at Christmas lights and go to our church’s Christmas Eve service. Christmas gifts and Santa aren’t that big of a deal in our house. We celebrate the coming of our King to earth, to take on human form, and eventually take on our sins at the cross so that we might live.
It’s interesting that as we have adapted to celebrating Christmas with multiple families that I’ve started to see how all those things that I mentioned above have become an idol to me. The actual day of Christmas is not really what I’m talking about in reference to my idol. It’s this season. I want to celebrate Jesus’ birth the way that I want to celebrate it. I want to be with the people I want to be with during this most joyful time. I don’t want to be around manipulative, selfish, unloving people who want to control things…oh wait…didn’t I just describe myself?
Oops.
I realized this year, that my idol of wanting to celebrate my own way has made the celebration Jesus coming to earth less than it should be. I learned through my sinfulness that in order to truly celebrate the coming of Jesus to earth I NEED to be around the people who are difficult to be around who don’t know Him and I NEED to LOVE them. He didn’t come to earth so I could celebrate in the way that I want to celebrate. He came so that His people would be redeemed and God the Father would be glorified. There is no better time in the year to naturally and easily share the Gospel with the unsaved in our family. So, this year, I am going to PARTY HARD and enjoy every moment of being with those who are really just like me.
