It's that Season again when shoppers enter stores to the sound of bells ringing and voices everywhere from the crowds trying to find a bargain. It is a time when many are buying for others as the tradition of gift giving at Christmas is in full swing. The atmosphere is one of excitement and hope. I have always greatly enjoyed the season of Christmas. Yes, even with all the trappings I still enjoy the season and all the festivities. Then the big day arrives, the gift wrappings are spread across the house, feasting has ended, the crowds leave and a kind of depression can come on the scene. Now a return to work and the routine is imminent and the bills must be paid. Where did the joy, excitement and the hope go? How could it vanish so quickly? Are we really so shallow that our energy is controlled by superficial hype? Now here is the really painful part. What I just described is the condition of most Christians as well as the world who knows no Christ. This observation demands a closer look at our lives and even the motivation of our hearts. Many years ago a Pastor described a friendly man in a way I have never forgotten. I have revisited his description many times as I examine my own life and the reason behind my motivations. The man he described always seemed happy with a big smile upon his face. He almost vibrated with energy and joy! He said of the man, "he seems to be filled with unenlightened enthusiasm." That would imply an outer excitement without an inward reason. The conclusion we must draw is that unenlightened enthusiasm leaves as quickly as it came and disappears with the decorations of the event. In my lifetime I have watched as advertisement never stops from season to season. There is always something we are told to celebrate. Stores take down decorations from one season only to put up the new decorations of the next season. It is now possible to live in a perpetual excitement, an artificial enthusiasm without any idea of why we feel excitement. God has designed us to live from the inside and not the outside. The outside can be artificial and relates to reason. The inside cannot be be fooled. The inside knows even when it doesn't truly understand. The inside, the spirit man, is the abode of the Spirit of God. The new birth through faith in what Jesus has done for us brings an internal inflation. All that Jesus has is now on the inside and His Joy brings His fullness into man's emptiness. That "Christ in Us brings the hope of glory!" As followers and disciples of Jesus we must maintain the friendship connection with Jesus throughout and above all seasons and events. Isn't it sad that Christmas can actually become a distraction to our internal life. When this happens our joy and hope suffers. We may not appear any different from a lost world. On the contrary, what a wonderful season to "shine". This is our season to check our connections and make sure our true internal source is healthy. We want people to see that we are different from the inside out! Who knows, they might even ask about our difference?
1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect...
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
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