Not just for Christmas
by Malcolm Wood
Twelfth Night has once again come and gone. The twelfth day after Christmas when traditionally the tinsel, trimmings and tree are packed away for another year and perhaps just the cards remain to be finally read before either being sent for recycling or put aside for some creative use next time.
As the boxes of baubles and coloured lights are put back in the loft for the next eleven months it would be so easy to think ‘Well that’s it for another year!’- But is it? Is the true message of Christmas just for the few weeks before and the twelve days after the 25th of December? Certainly not!
It would be just as wrong to confine the Christ of Christmas to the decoration cupboard along with the dismantled Nativity scene as it is to attempt to exclude Christ from Christmas altogether as some do.
The truth of the Christmas message that ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’ (1Tim 1:15) holds true for all time 24/7,365 days a year. The impact that statement can have on our lives depends surely upon how much we are prepared to allow the Christ of Christmas to reveal Himself to us each and every day of the year, not just at Christmas. As we allow Him to influence our lives on a daily basis, shouldn’t every day be like Christmas?
Perhaps, if we celebrated every day the fact that- Jesus came, Jesus died, Jesus arose, Jesus will come again, then every day would be like Christmas?
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for coming to earth and revealing Yourself to mankind. Help me to see and acknowledge You and daily experience the real joy of Christmas. Amen.
Malcolm Wood and his wife Anna became part of the Ellel family as House Managers at Ellel Grange in 1990. Since then they have been involved with many aspects of the developing Ministry. From 2001 until 2015 they were Directors of Ellel Scotland where they hosted several International Schools and Operation Blairmore and helped pioneer the exciting Creative Inspiration Weeks. They have three sons.
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