For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11 NASB
Last night I sat and watched the entire movie, A Christmas Story, for the first time ever. I had tried several times to watch it, but never made it through more than a few minutes. But, because it is one of my husband’s favorite Christmas movies, I sat and watched it with him. While it is still not one of my favorites, it is not as unbearable as I remember.
I think one reason this movie is so popular is that we can all identify with Ralph, the young boy in the story who hopes desperately for that Red Ryder B. B. gun. We have all had those Christmas mornings when we open all the gifts and we are stuck with the pink bunny suit. Maybe not actually a pink bunny suit, but something equally disappointing. Some people are really good at giving gifts, like my husband and my friend Jane. Some people, like me, are not. Either way, we all hope to get something that we really want or need for Christmas, right? We also want to give the perfect gift.
Once all the gifts are opened and it is bare under the tree, then we know whether we have something we will use and treasure or if we will be standing in the customer service line the next day hoping to exchange it. Oh, I know some of you think it’s horrible to exchange a gift. I am of the opinion that if I got you something and you would prefer something else, by all means go and exchange it. I would rather you have something you will use than have something that will be shoved in a closet and forgotten. Anyway, the bottom line is sometimes we get exactly what we had hoped for and sometimes we don’t.
What has always amazed me is that we spend months preparing for Christmas. We decorate, we spend hours upon hours buying Christmas presents for friends and family. We cook holiday meals. We go to parties and prepare food to bring to these parties. We lead up to Christmas months in advance and it all seems to be over in a matter of just a few short hours. I admit that years ago, I always had a bit of post-Christmas blues because of this. I would think about how I had done all that work decorating and picking out presents and it was all over in no time. But this was because I celebrated the wrong thing at Christmas. I celebrated food, gifts, and time with family. Even though every year my mom went to the local bakery and bought a birthday cake that said Happy Birthday Jesus on it to be served as dessert after our Christmas dinner, I celebrated the wrong things.
But once I dedicated my life to Christ, I received the best gift ever. You see our scripture passage for today sums it all up. Jesus is our gift. He was wrapped and lying in that manger over 2000 years ago. The angels announced to the shepherds that unto them a Savior had been born who was Christ the Lord. Unto us a Savior has been born. Just like those shepherds minding their own business and tending their sheep, we have been given this mind-blowing gift. We have been given the gift of eternal life.
When all the gifts are opened and we sit thinking about all the work it took to get us there, will we think about that baby that was given to save us from our sins? Will we think about what really matters? Over 2000 years ago today a Savior who is Christ the Lord was born for us in the city of David. If we accept Him as our Savior and allow Him to be Lord over our lives, we have received the most awesome gift ever given to man.
If Christmas feels like a bit of a let down, maybe it’s because you have gotten wrapped up in celebrating the wrong things. Give it all over to that tiny baby in a manger that would grow to be a man who never sinned, who showed us how to live and treat others and who died to save us from sin and an eternity in hell. If we don’t do this, we will always be let down. But, if we accept Him as our Savior and allow Him to be Lord over our lives we will always have peace and joy after all the gifts have been unwrapped no matter what others gave to us or how they responded to what we gave to them.
Have a very Merry Christmas!!