greater things

The holidays are...

for listening to Christmas music? No.

for hibernating inside and baking? No.

for giving gifts and being nice? Wrong again.

for spending time with family and loved ones? No.

How odd that every year at this time

people ask the question, "What is the

true meaning of Christmas?"

Let's break it down,

Christ = Jesus!

mas = a church service/feast.

I may be stating the obvious, but it dawned

on me the other day how difficult it must be

for those who celebrate Christmas without

celebrating the birth of Jesus.

No wonder people become so weary and

jaded of the season.

Even Christians tire of the holiday, and I

think it's because we put too much weight

on the accessories of the season (the lights,

the music, the goodwill to all.)

Christmas, after all, is only one day. And

we often try to make it last for a month.

Advent, however, is the ancient season

that truly leads up to Christmas day.

Advent is a time to recognize our dire

need for Jesus to come. We meditate on

the joy that He will come. Then, when

Christmas day arrives, we can welcome

it and be glad because we've longed for

that day for four weeks.

I am learning a lot about advent this

year. I recommend it to everyone.

Now, incase you thought I was a grump

and that I don't like any of those things

that I first listed:

And it just wouldn't be right to end this post without giving credit to Luke, because without his story of Jesus, we wouldn't even have Christmas to begin with. (None of the other authors mentioned how or when Jesus was born.)

"So the shepherds hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told to them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told."

Luke 2:16-20

Thank you, Luke!