BLOG - For to us a Child shall be born, to us a Son shall be given; And the government shall be upon His shoulder, And His name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6
Family or friends, presents or not, we can all say we have some kind of special memory of Christmas - each one of us celebrating Christmas in some way we see fit.
One of my favourite Christmas memories is when our family got together in a house in the mountains.
I sat in a the circle, passing wrapped Christmas presents to the next family member and when the music stopped, whoever was holding the gift shredded the wrapping paper, hardly containing their curiosity.
The presents were small, some homemade, because the purpose was to create laughter and fun. And it was fun! Christmas is not about presents or a tree or even Santa. It is so much more. As the years come and go, we seem to forget the bigger picture of Christmas.
Jesus is the only reason why we celebrate. His leaving His throne for you and me. A king who chose to be a nobody, making room for us in His kingdom. We celebrate Christmas because of Jesus’ birth. Yes, 25 December may not be the official birthday of Jesus, but what does it matter?
We stop, take time, and celebrate what Jesus has done for us, for everyone. He willingly sacrificed himself as the perfect gift for the world. A lamb led to the slaughterhouse, voluntarily and freely telling everyone that He wants you no matter what you did or who you are.
For some of us, Christmas does not look so jolly anymore. After the year we have had, why pretend to celebrate and be happy? Christmas might look dull for you, seeing an empty space where your loved one once sat.
Their favourite time
Maybe you are afraid of celebrating Christmas, because that would mean life goes on, or maybe Christmas was their favorite time and celebrating it brings too much pain.
My grandfather passed away this year, four months to be exact, and he had this big, red sock in which we would surprise him with small gifts, mostly sweets.
Sadly, this year it will be empty.
But somehow, Christmas is so much more beautiful knowing that my grandfather is with the Lord and that is the most extraordinary gift anyone could have given to my family and I.
So I want to ask you, wherever you are, that you will stop what you are doing on Christmas day and thank our Father for the greatest gift He has given you, a gift that He gave with a great price.
We so easily get lost and distracted with the things around us, that we forget the actual reason we are celebrating, and not just a reason, but a person, a king!
As we celebrate Christmas with friends or family, let us just thank Him, for that is the least we can do. For is He not worthy of our praise?
This is a song I feel goes with this blog post and I would love you to listen to it: With the Son of God by Craig Aven
From the blog Uncovering by Shantel.
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