Merry Christmas: What its all about.

What a great time of the year. I can publicly proclaim that I celebrate the day that Jesus was born to die and its ok in cultures eyes, that is such a blessing. Our actions should reflect that but they rarely do. I love the family time that this season offers for us, it is often a rare treat, and hopefully not taken for granted. But back to my point, Christmas is blatantly about Jesus Christ. It is in celebration of his humble birth to an unwed teenage girl in a stable, the God of the universe came under those terms, real life terms.

As I sit restless in the early hours of Christmas day I want to remind myself that Christmas is not the gift buying/getting excuse to spend money machine bur rather Christmas is an attempt at an analogy. An analogy were material gifts ar ment to represent the gift that we have been presented with. A gift that is greater than any other, more valuable than a mountain of gold or a sea of rubies, that is the gift of a relationship with God. Restoration of the connection between God and man. A new covenant that will never fail or pass away. He is our gift and our salvation.

As I savor the evening that laughs, the food, the music, the time spent with my little cousins and all the memories of the night I hope that after all is said and done we remember what this time of the year is really about. It is not about what the media wants it to be: all about family, putting on a smile, and treating the ones you love to things they may not deserve (or can afford). These things are not bad in and of themselves but focusing on them primarily devalues Christ as honored in this season and elevates them to idol status. Whether we want to believe it or not we can worship our own families above God. All these things are wonderful things when celebrated in the freedom found in Christ. I love my family and cannot wait to spend Christmas and the rest of this season around them. My mother and father have given me a life that should be the envy of any man and my sister is the best in the world. We are not the poster family but we love each other furiously and that is what makes us so wonderful, I am thankful for them above all things that I have been physically blessed with. I am glad that home can be such a perfect place for rest and restoration.

Merry Christmas,
Jacob

p.s. praying for a white Christmas!