There are lots of fictional characters that have been developed over the years that have been used to focus on some aspects of Christmas. And you just might identify with one of them. I hope it won’t be the Grinch or even Scrooge. I have one that I like…it is Buddy the Elf in the movie Elf! Yeah, I like the way that he is just continually wishing people a Merry Christmas and wanting to draw them into this time of celebration. Yeah, I know that there is no gospel really being presented…but he starts right where people are and just wishes them a Merry Christmas. I used to think that saying “Merry Christmas” was just greeting that everyone did automatically. Maybe it was once…but it isn’t now. I seem to end up standing in line for a lot of stuff and I listen to what for example the checker at Walmart says to the people buying stuff and what they have said to them. A lot of times it is virtual silence. Two human beings standing face to face…and little or nothing is said. I just cannot pass that opportunity to engage someone and let them know that there is a person who recognizes that they are somebody because God has already declared them loved by him! And when Christmas comes…I’m ready to go. I try to wish everyone a “Merry Christmas” and it used to be that you’d get a hearty “Merry Christmas” back to you. Now my experience has been that some people will just kind of stare at me, embarrassed about Merry Christmas! Others will kind of whisper it back to me. I want them to hear Christmas and that it is indeed a time of joy. And if I’m asked why, it is a merry time, I will tell them that the best friend I ever had, his birth, is celebrated that day! So as a believer in Christmas…the real Christmas of the Bible, go out there and just tell them that. It isn’t all they need to know, but it is a start. To point them back to Christmas and to declare it publicly. And in some small way, maybe the God of Christmas will open a door to a heart along the way this season and the celebration can go from holiday wishes to the proclamation to the heart of the birth of Jesus who is the Christ…the Savior of the world. So, to you all this day…Merry Christmas!
Luke 2:9-11 NLT Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, (10) but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. (11) The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!
Remember I’m praying for you…
PJ
Luke 2:9-11 NLT Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, (10) but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. (11) The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!
Remember I’m praying for you…
PJ