Haggai 1:1-15
Psalm 31
Revelations 2:18-29
Matthew 23:27-39
Santa Jesus, Please Stop Here!
I admit, I am certainly one to get caught up in the excitement of Christmas. I love to decorate, bake cookies, wrap pretty presents, dress for the occasion, and read bundles of books to our kids during this season of anticipation. In this fast paced life it is hard to focus on Jesus when Santa starts appearing before Halloween!
Haggai came to ask, “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?” We prepare our homes with decorations and food for family and friends to celebrate the birth of Jesus, but where is our focus? The Lord says, “Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm.” These passages serve as a warning for me to prepare my heart for Christmas, not just my home. Let’s invite Jesus in. Let’s make room for him in our home, in our minds, and in our soul, not just the Nativity Scene. Maybe this year while the fireplace is going (if it’s not 90 degrees), it can remind us of the light of Jesus, the one who brings us hope and comfort. I encourage you to find the simple things in your home that can remind you to pray and give thanks. Even that silly little Elf on the Shelf, find some way to incorporate him into the story of Jesus instead of Santa. The Elf can remind the kids to speak kindly to one another, love one another, help one another, and know that God loves them.
We can be busy doing wonderful things, but we need to slow down enough so that we can truly be blessed and receive our King. Two years ago I was a little ambitious with all the Advent things we had received. Thanks to Pinterest, we can now spend lots of time showing our creative talents and make our own ornaments to share with friends and have 25 days of hand-made ornaments to go on our very festive Advent tree. In our home we also have the traditional Christmas Advent tree where we velcro ornaments to a felt tree. And lastly we received small treasures to open for 25 days from our church, all with good messages. But trying to keep up with 3 different Advent adventures with different messages, with 2 kids saying I want to do this one today, you did that one yesterday, it turned into a chore rather than a blessing. Thankfully we did learn from this and scaled it down last year. I love that our kids are learning about the arrival of our Savior and can now answer the questions in the devotional book that goes along with our festive Advent tree. This was a true testament that less is more. Be free to say no to good things if they are bogging you down so that you can focus on the best things.
In Matthew, Jesus cautions us about looking beautiful on the outside, but being unclean on the inside. We spend so much time on Facebook where we see others looking perfect and happy, which can make us feel like we don’t measure up. But we don’t really know what is going in others’ lives unless we take the time to have that relationship outside of social media. What do people see when they unwrap us? What is really going on inside our homes and our hearts? Let’s not hide behind the pretty pictures. We cannot hide from God anyway, he knows everything about us. So when you are making pancakes in the shape of snowman, go for it, enjoy it, but pray before that meal and invite Jesus to your table.
While we wait in expectation this Christmas, are we waiting on Santa or Jesus? Maybe we let our friends and neighbors in our homes when they are not perfectly set this Christmas and just share the love that Jesus fills us with. Yes, I am writing to myself here! Let’s prepare our hearts to receive the biggest gift that will ever come into our lives. Let’s rest in our imperfections so that we can see the light and the hope of Jesus, our perfect gift, this holiday season.
Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday, Jesus!
Angie Foster