Tis the Season Full of Folly

Fa La La La La La La La La!

Yes, another year has almost come to an end and I find myself reflecting. What have I done with the time God gave me? What have I done with another year of opportunity? Did I waste it in pleasing self or did I use every moment in reaching out to a lost and dying world with the glorious message of salvation?

Sobering thoughts. When I stop and think about the 8760 hours I had to serve Him, how many of those hours were actually spent in service to Him.

At this time of year, more than any other time, we have the opportunity to share with others the real meaning of the season. As the world's focus is on buying gifts and eating, drinking and being merry, our focus should be on reaching out and telling others about the miracle of Jesus birth.

This time of year becomes so busy that we can't see Christ for Christmas. It's easy to get caught up in the swirl of activity and the buying buying buying. We hear the carols playing in every store, over loud speakers down the main street, hip hopped versions blared loudly as we do our grocery shopping. But does the world know the true meaning of “Away in a Manger” or “Joy to the World”? And if they don't, is it our fault?

Is it our fault we pass people in the street and give them the customary, “Merry Christmas” instead of sharing with them the beautiful story of Jesus Christ coming to this earth to be born in a stable, humble and lowly, so that He could die for our sins?

Yes, too often I am guilty of just trying to ignore this whole time of year and wait impatiently for it all to be over. The hustle, the bustle, the frustrations of the busyness and the short attitudes that go along with it. Too often, I pass people in the shop, busy choosing that perfect gift for a loved one, filling their trolley with Christmas wrap, tinsel, lights, bon bons, without even a thought of saying something that might help to bring them to consider their eternal destiny.

Not everyone celebrates Christmas in the same way. And yes, some are quick to judge when others do things differently. But, whether you give gifts or you don't, the story of Christ's birth is still the same. The fact that God chose to send His only Son down to earth, to be born of a virgin, so that we might have eternal life, is still amazing! And the story hasn't changed.

We dash around madly, making sure the dining room is decked in splendour, while somewhere in the foggy recesses of our minds, we vaguely remember a dusty, dirty, smelly stable, where our Saviour was laid in a manger and the angels rejoiced.

Sometimes, in our efforts to witness at this time of year, we are guilty of only telling part of the story. Yes, the season is about Christ's birth, but it also brings us to the more sobering thought of His death. As the song so aptly puts it,

“Born to die upon Calv'ry, Jesus suffered my sin to forgive.
Born to die upon Calv'ry, He was wounded that I might live”

Jesus wasn't just born and that was the end of it. That's not the end of the story. He was sent down to earth to die on the cross for our sins. He was born to die. The reason for His humble birth was so that He could save us from eternal damnation.

This past year has been a year of opportunity for me. The Lord has brought so many opportunities into my life to serve Him and yet I have failed many times to grab hold of them with both hands, and ask for God's strength to enable me to use these times wisely and help to make an eternal difference in someone's life. We know that it is God that does the work and He doesn't need our help, but He chooses to use us, as imperfect people, to spread the Word and be a light in a dark world.

This time of year can be very dark, metaphorically speaking. A world blinded by consumerism and materialism and everything it can offer. All the more reason to shine our light and shine it brightly!

We can hold our Christmas services and enjoy our festive luncheons, but if we are not out there, being a witness to the lost, telling the whole story, and testifying of God's goodness in our lives on a daily basis, we might as well stay home.

The story of a babe in a manger is easy on the ears and easy to tell, but to tell of a Saviour, suffering and bleeding on an old wooden cross for our sins, in our place, is a whole lot harder.

The shadow of the cross hung over the manger on the day of Christ's birth. It was there, that shadow, right from the very beginning. God knew what He was doing and He was willing to give His only Son to die for us.

THIS is the real story. THIS is the story the world needs to hear. Not only the story of His miraculous birth, but the story of His sacrificial death, His burial and His resurrection.

PRAISE GOD! We serve a risen Saviour!