Most of us grew up in hope where children were all nestled in their beds with sugar plum fairies dancing in their heads because they were guaranteed the most expensive and trendy gifts on the market. With dreams of Xboxes, Playstations, and the newest iPhones, children would sleep peacefully knowing they would be the most popular of all their friends. By the way, just for the record, I was never that kid!
If you live in South Carolina like we do, Frosty the Snowman is an older television show weirdly animated without the benefit of Pixar or Disney, and not something you make outside with friends, snow, and rolling large snowballs. By the way, where do children even get coal and corn-cobbed pipes anymore? Oh, and a talking snowman? Mmmm. I don’t know. While it is a catchy little tune, it just doesn’t do it for me anymore.
And Sleigh Ride? What is that? The only thing I ever did as a kid was to slide on a cookie sheet down an ice covered hill in my back yard and run into the brick stairs leading back into my house. I think it was fun…….can’t really remember. I do remember it ended with tears and hot chocolate. I have seen those horse drawn sleighs down in Charleston. They seem fun, but without snow it probably just isn’t the same.
Why am I complaining? After all, it is a Wonderful Life. George Bailey nearly loses his house and family, and the whole community gathers to help him out of a difficult situation. Oh, don’t forget about Clarence the quirky angel who challenges George at every turn. What is the moral? With good friends it really is a Wonderful Life. How do we define a wonderful life today? Another month of paid bills, more than a quarter tank of gas in the car, no salesmen knocking at your door around dinnertime, children passing school, no repairs to the house, and working longer hours than you ever did before. That’s a Wonderful Life!
We can’t forget about Christmas Vacation and Cousin Eddie. Everyone has a cousin Eddie who shows up at the family Christmas dinner with his turkey bone eating, coughing and hacking dog. We’ll just leave it there.
Silent night has been replaced with all the frantic shopping and scouring isles for those last minute gift list items you failed to get on Black Friday. There are no silent nights before Christmas. The only silent night we have is on Christmas Eve because the kids have to be asleep before Santa comes. No sleep…..no Santa. That’s the way it always was in my house.
What Child is This is something sadly and commonly asked by children across the United States and around the world because they really know nothing about Jesus. Most are clueless. What a sad thought. We take for granted that people know about Jesus. After traveling to several third world countries, I can say that many do not know the story of Jesus. Before hammering third world countries, let’s look at our own country. I would venture to say that we live in the same situation. Now, there are a few who still gather around their nativity scenes and ponder the miracle of Christmas to mankind. But, not most. We’re just too busy trying to cram in all the planned events.
Don’t get me wrong. Christmas is still magical……….but just maybe we need a culture shift back to what really matters. Jesus.
In my house, “Away in a manger no crib for a bed” always meant baby Jesus was missing and sometimes the shepherds and wise men stood there worshiping an empty hay-filled feeding trough. We (me and my sister) were always blamed for stealing Jesus. What an awful accusation to make toward totally perfect children. Eventually, we super glued the plastic baby to the trough. Jesus would never escape again. I can remember that tiny pink plastic baby to this day. You know what nativity scenes are in most homes? Part of the decorations. They just blend in with the tinsel, bows, ornaments, and family pictures of past Christmases.
So, how do we make a culture shift in our homes? Slow down and reflect. That brings me to one of my favorite verses in one of my favorite Christmas songs of all time.
All Hail! Lord, we greet Thee, Born this happy morning, O Jesus! for evermore be Thy name adored. Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing; O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
There are three things we can learn from this song. First, we should greet Jesus as a king, because He really is the King of all Kings. He is preeminent. He is above all other kings. He is Supreme!
Second, He was the Word of God in flesh. As we read through John 1, we are reminded that the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus is the Word!
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14).
Third we should adore Him. This phrase is written three times in this verse. Three times! It is that important. How do we adore Him? We adore Him through authentic worship.
Christ is the Lord. He is the Savior of His people. He is the Lord over all things.
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11).
I want to leave you with an amazing quote…
The message of Jesus Christ, if properly understood, still offers the beauty, the power & the only hope of any future for mankind. – Ravi Zacharias