It’s the time of year for making wishes and wishlists. I’m from the era of Sears Roebuck & Co. Christmas Wish Book. Eldest of three, I learned that checking the mail insured I got the first look. I remember pouring over the pages, cover to cover, listing, revising, and listing again. My shopping was limited to the dime store, the grocery store, and Woolworths for our annual family photo. I wore hand-me-downs and my first banana seat bike was built by my daddy from scraps. I remember the sanded and freshly painted pieces hanging on the clothesline to dry, ready to assemble. His daddy bought our swing set and probably helped build our playhouse. My mom’s dad would’ve helped too. Our Barbie Skyscraper complete with elevator, my Batman Big Wheel, play kitchen and baby dolls likely came from Sears.
As a child, I don’t remember being inundated with advertising at every turn. We rarely watched television because we were outside, but when we did it was a family affair. Staying up late for Peanuts specials, Hee Haw, or Lawrence Welk with my grandparents and Saturday mornings with Mr. Green Jeans and Captain Kangaroo- that was about it, but if I ever missed it, I doubt I noticed.
We baked mud pies on the steps on the sunny side of the house, rode bikes between our house and the surrounding relatives, and played baseball in the front yard with trees as bases. We raised rabbits and the neighbors had horses. We grew a garden and we had fruit trees. When my papa retired, my siblings, cousins, and I spent weekends and summer breaks exploring their land while they built a house. The bottom three feet of the exterior got enough coats of paint to last a lifetime but we were just happy to help. I don’t remember having a lot of time to wish for anything else.
So as we enter this Christmas season, I’m reflecting once again on how to recapture some of the wholesomeness that characterized my childhood and pass it along to this next generation. I long to shift the focus away from our stuff and toward the reason we celebrate- Jesus. Over the years, we’ve taken a little of this and a little of that, combining tradition with novelty, serving and giving in order to teach our children that it truly is more blessed to give than to receive, and like Paul, we have led by example.
“And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard.
You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’””
Acts of the Apostles 20:35 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/act.20.35.NLT
What are you longing for this Christmas? Are you yearning for time with someone you love or wishing you could have a few more moments with someone you’ve lost? With whom do your affections lie? What grabs your attention every time it finds its way mysteriously into your feed? Which thoughts seem to be on instant replay in your head? Where does your mind go when it’s idle? Taking every thought captive is not typically one of the scriptures I would identify with Christmas, but maybe it should be. Christmas is entirely about Christ- the baby King born to save us all. Many traditions come from our desire to celebrate and commemorate the Savior’s birth, but unless we’re very careful, they take on a life of their own, detracting from rather than focusing in on the significance of the baby in the manger.
“We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do.
We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.
We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God.
We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/2co.10.3-5.NLT
“The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair.
But we don’t live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will.
The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture.
We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.
Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-6 MSG
https://bible.com/bible/97/2co.10.3-6.MSG
Millions of dollars are spent every day on advertising. In the last twenty-four hours, how many social media or email ads have you deleted? How many billboards have you driven past? How many mailers and catalogues clutter your mailbox, and how many commercials have you forwarded through to binge-watch your favorite shows? The daily onslaught of advertising pushing products and ideas is convicting in a way. No one is offended by the constant barrage. We like to be in the know. We want the latest and greatest even though it will quickly become yesterday’s news. Not so with the gospel.
Who do you love?
What do you love?
More than God?
“Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’
A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.””
Matthew 22:37, 39-40 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/mat.22.37-40.NLT
(Jesus quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/deu.6.5.NLT)
Jesus always points to God. (Colossians 1:15, John 1:1, Hebrews 1:3) He is love because He is God and God
is love. We love others with His love because He first loved us. (I John 4) He is first in all things. He must be first for love to flow from Him. Separated from Him, we are powerless to love. Without Him, we can do nothing. (John 15:5) Our love is a self-seeking, self-serving imitation without Jesus. Even a missions mindset is meaningless unless Jesus is Lord over it.
“If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.
If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.”
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NLT
https://bible.com/bible/116/1co.13.1-3.NLT
Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Giving Tuesday are just behind us. Whether your Christmas shopping is finished or you haven’t even started, remember- Jesus is the reason for the season.
““Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal.
Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.
Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”
Matthew 6:19-21 NLT
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