Christmas.

This last week, Mr. Hough commented on the pattern my posts seem to follow: I post on Tuesdays. So to be true to form I guess, here I am, yet again, posting on a Tuesday.

It’s December 23, 2008.

The most anticipated holiday is upon us.

It is a holiday of celebration. It commemorates the birth of the Savior of the Universe, the true Messiah.

It is a holiday of hope. It symbolizes God’s infinite love for his people: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…” (John 3:16).

It is a holiday of community. It brings families and friends together to exchange gifts and enjoy one another’s company.

At the same time, it has become a holiday of consumption. A season of greed and indulgence advances on our society the moment Thanksgiving turkeys are tossed in the trash and the last slice of pumpkin pie is consumed.

This year, I think we’ve all heard the groans of a society stricken with pain and sadness from this same holiday: several people were trampled by over-eager shoppers in a New Jersey Wal-Mart, and one individual was shot and killed in a Toys-R-Us this last November.

What has happened to our world that this joyous holiday is now a monster? Under the guise of the “spirit of giving” we justify our right to consume and receive.

And worst of all, our gifts are all too often trivial attempts to just purchase something. They don’t represent something larger, something eternal. They are just items to be used and discarded.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer puts it well:

Look up you whose eyes are fixed on this earth, you who are captivated by the events and changes on the surface of this earth… “Look up, your redemption is drawing near.” Something different than you see daily, something more important, something infinitely greater and more powerful is taking place. Become aware of it, be on guard, wait a short while longer, wait and something new will overtake you! God will come, Jesus will take possession of you and you will be redeemed people.

With such hope and glory and eternal blessing at our fingertips, why don’t we look up? Why are we focused on the temporary that’s here and now? Why don’t we give with eternal purpose or reward in mind? Instead of purchasing that scarf for a friend living in sunny Southern California, why not purchase a cow through World Vision for an impoverished village in her name?

If the only way to find our life is to lose it, why aren’t we living differently? Why do we continue to seek meaning in worldly things?

May you live with purpose and acknowledge the heavenly hope in and awesome glory of our Father this Christmas.