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All to often, the messaage of Christmas fades between decembers. Here's how to keep it alive in your heart all year long.
OK, first comes
the tinsel. Be careful not to spill too much on the
carpet. You know how tough it is to get that stuff up with
the vaccum.
Next, comes the ornaments...one at
a time and make sure they get in the right boxes this
year! You don't want to find a repeat of "shattered
glass" next December. Oh, and don't forget the star on
top. It's got that special place in the ornament box, all
snug and secure.
Finally, let's get those branches taken
off. Of course, that's the easy part. Shoving them
back in the box and getting it all taped doesn is another matter
all thogether. Next year, maybe your family will take you
seriously when you suggest a real tree instead of this old thing
made of green pope cleaners! (On the other hand, have you
thought about how much work it might take to get a real tree out
of the house and over to the recycling center?)
In any case, after a little ingenuity, a
little brute force, and a whole lot of duct tape, the job's
done. The tree is down and packed away. All that's
left is to move the furniture back in place and wait until next
Christmas.
Next Christmas. Man, that seems
like such a long time from now. How in the world will you
ever make it that long? Well, that's one of the
strange things about Christmas. We spend the better part of
11 months gearing up for December 25, only to have it pass so
quickly in a metter of days.
What's worse is that all too often
the message of Christmas doesn't always carry through the long
layoff between Decembers. During the season, it's fresh in
out minds. Reminders of Jesus' birth are everywhere.
But by the beginning of the new year, things are back to
"normal." The nativity scenes come down.
Whole sections of the church hymnal don't get used. In
general, people's thoughts turn toward something else.
You get the picture.
So, what's to be done? How can you
as a teen keep the meaning and message of Christmas alive well
past December 25?
Well, at the risk of sounding too
simplistic, start by going back to the Source. Begin by
taking a look at what Jesus--the Reason for the Christmas
season--did after that first Christmas celebration.
To do that, let's fast-forward past
Bethlehem a few years. Following the traditional Christmas
stuff we hear about each year, we know that Jesus spent some time
in Egypt (Matt. 2:13-18). After His return, we don't hear
much until He's 12 and grilling the religious leaders of His day
in the temple. According to Luke 2:51, once Mary and Joseph
found Him, they took Him home and He was "obedient to
them."
From that, the stage is set for Luke
2:52: "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor
with God and men." And, if you're wanting to keep the
message of Christmas alive once the tree is down and packed into
the attic, that'w what you're goin g to need to do as well.
So, let's take a closer look at Luke 2:52 piece-by-piece.
Wisdom: First, Jesus grew in
wisdom. It's tempting to think of wisdom only in the
academic sense, but it means so much more. While it's true
that Jesus continued to grow intellectually (The stuff He knew),
it's just as important to realize that He grew in His ability to
work through the things He knew.
Today, we call that doscernment or
common sense. It involves taking the knowledge you have and
using it to make proper decisions in life.
So, what's that got to do with keeping
Christmas alive after the tree comes down? It's really pretty
simple. If the whole idea behind Christmas is to glorify
Jesus, what better way can you do that than by making wise
decisions each day?
Right now, you're probably on Christmas
break until the first part of January. Well, when you get
back to school in a few days, soak up as much academic knowledge
as you can. You're halfway through the school year.
Make the second half better than the first. But at the same
time, ask God to give you wisom, so you can use the things you
are learning for His honor and His glory.
Stature: Often in the New Testament, the
Greek word for stature in Luke 2:52 is used only to descrive
getting older or reaching a certain age. But, in this case,
it means more than that. It has to do with Jesus' physical
growth.
See, not only did Jesus grow in wisdom,
but He also grew physically. In other words, He saw the
importance of taking care of Himself. He grew wiser, but He
also grew stronger.
How well do you take care of yourself
these days? Get enough sleep at night? Exercise
enough? Survive on more than just pork rinds anf fast food?
Again, you might be wondering what all
this has to do with christmas, but think about this for a
minute. Who will get more out of Bible study, a person who
is half-asleep or someone who has the proper rest? Who's
probably going to be in a better condition to hear God's Spirit
speak? Who's going to have more energy to accomplish things
for God?
Take care of yourself! It will
help keep your testimony alive and will help put the message of
Christmas on display long after the timsel and ornaments have
been packed away.
Favor with God: Was Jesus completely
sinless? Sure, He was. Dows sinless perfection please
God? You'd better believe it! So, what's the big
deal?
Well, the big deal is that day-to-day
Jesus chose to d othe right thing. And by doing that, He
set the example for us. He gave us a model for our lives.
Admittedly, we'll never reach sinless
perfection this side of heaven. We're all going to make
mistakes from time to time. But the fact remains that if we
choose to do that's right in each situation, we will be living in
favor with God--just like Jesus did.
And we'll be living out our faith in
front of the world, and that honors both the message of Christmas
and the Messiah of Christmas.
And men: Now, don't get hung up on
gender here! Luke wasn't saying that Jesus only delt with
men. For one thing, the Greek word used here can refer to
all of humanity (as it does in this case). And, for another
thing, the rest of Scripture clearly shows that Jesus did not
play favorites.
The key here is that Jesus became a
"people person." He learned early that His
mission in life was going to involve people, so He matured
socially. He mastered the art of dealing with all kinds of
people in all kinds of situations. In short, He built
relationships!
What kind of relationships are you
building these days? If you're going to promore the message
of Christmas beyond December, you're going to have to build
relationships, even if it means leaving your comfort zone.
After all, people aren't going to listen to your message until
they know you care about them.
So, don't pack up the message and
meaning of Christmas with the ornaments in the attic. Live
it out everyday and remind the world that the Baby born in
Bethlehem is the same One who died on Calvary and rose on Easter
morning.
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