Looking Forward to Christmas

Christmas. What is it to you and to me? A time of preparation and anticipation? How many people do I have to cook Christmas dinner for? What can I buy for Uncle Richard, who’s got everything?

Suddenly there are only a few days left. And we still have this to do, and that to do, rushing around trying to get everything done in time. Or we’re packing ready to go off to friends or family for the Christmas break. Or perhaps booking tickets for a holiday away.

There’s a deadline. It’s December 25th. Of course some people have it all under control. They plan their shopping early, like the end of October, or early November. They’re the ones who’re ‘organised.’ Some have even taken advantage of last January’s sales, and snapped up the bargains to be ready for this year.

Whichever way we look at it, or whatever way we plan, there seems to be a roller-coaster ride ahead till the appointed day, and then we can all relax. Or can we? There’s family friction. We try to be on our best behaviour and not offend. Children get over excited and fractious. The day we’ve been looking forward to for so long can soon degenerate into a time of lethargy and over-indulgence. Is this what it’s all about?

No, of course not. It’s the anticipation. Looking forward to celebrating the birth of Jesus, our Saviour. The One who came into the world at the appointed time to make a way back to God. To take upon Himself the sins of the world, so that those who receive Him are called out of the darkness into which we were born, and into the glorious light of the revelation of God. We look forward to Christmas Day when we can celebrate this wonderful truth. We exchange gifts, enjoy good food and fellowship, and rejoice.

But it’s not just on one day of the year when we can celebrate the day the Light of the World came to earth. That day came and went over two thousand years ago. But the legacy lives on. It’s living now, in each one of us who’s accepted Jesus Christ as our Saviour.

Instead of looking forward once a year, sometimes with a certain amount of trepidation, to an event that lasts barely a day, let’s live now in the truth of what we know. Let’s live constantly in fervent appreciation of what He’s accomplished. Let the joy of Christmas continually be our strength, even in this dark world, so we may live in His light, and share it with those who are yet to discover the truth.

Let every day be a Christmas day, so that when the annual event approaches we don’t just look forward with anticipation to all that it means, we look back with a thankful heart to all that He’s done for us. Then we can celebrate.

Prayer: Father, let me not take lightly the meaning of Christmas. Please fill me again with the wonder of the significance of the Baby born in Bethlehem. A Baby like no other, who became a Man like no other, to take my place in death, so I might have life. Help me to live in the continual awareness of this truth. In Jesus’ name. Amen.