The Christmas Rush

On December 14th, I joined in the madness called Christmas shopping at the local WalMart.  The store was fairly crowded, as one can expect for this time of year.  Everyone was hurrying to locate that special gift. In all the scurrying about, I could not help but ask “Am I remembering the reason that I celebrate Christmas?”  Is not Christmas more than having a shopping cart full of toys and other items?

Some years ago, I was chatting with some friends about the Christmas story.  In the midst of the discussion, some thing began to dawn on me.  Is it a coincidence that we should be celebrating Christmas on one of the long night of the year?  That it should be just a few days from the beginning of a New Yer?  I think not.

There is more to Christmas than the giving of gifts to each other.  Yet, it is very much tied to the greatest git that has been given to human being.  Jesus is God, the Father’s gift to men and women.  As the angel had told the shepherds,  God has given us, a precious gift.  A Savior has been born and it is Christ, the Lord.

It shouldn’t be so strange that we celebrate Christmas in late December.  Oh, what perfct timing!  Did not Jesus come into this world, at such a dark time?  Did he not come to do more than just die on the cross?  Yes, Jesus did come to die on the cross; so that our sins would be forgiven.  Yet, there is more to it.  Jesus came to give us, a hope and a future.  In fact, Jesus is the hope for a new life.

It really isn’t about rushing into a store to buy the latest gift.  It is about spending time with family and giving thanks for what we have been given.