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It’s OK to talk to these strangers, they’re Wisemen.

Bible illustration c.1900

Image via Wikipedia

Some parental instructions are pretty obvious. “Don’t talk to strangers!”  It’s a common sense warning.  Our kids have picked up on that one pretty quick.  Then there are those variations on the obvious instructions that may not occur to you unless circumstances dictate.  The stranger isn’t talking to your child, their trying to give them food.  That’s right, food.  So you repeat the obvious instructions, and add the new variation.  ”And of all things, don’t EVER take CANDY from a stranger!”  It would be funny if it didn’t really happen.  A few days ago we were leaving church, and a friendly man my daughter did not know came up to her and offered a candy cane.  Like all 3 year olds who have been taught well, she hesitated to take the candy.  She shied away from the harmless gentlemen and looked at us with that “I don’t know this dude but I sure would like that candy cane.  Is it OK?”  look.  We nodded permission, and she happily received the gift.  Some principles of parenting transcend time, place, and culture.  I bet ”Don’t talk to strangers!” is one of them.

I want to call your attention to what I imagine was a profound moment in the life of baby Jesus and his parents, Mary and Joseph.

Church tradition, and a careful reading of the scriptures lead us to believe that The Magi, or the wise men were not present at the manger that night when the shepherds arrived to see the newly born Jesus.  Most scholars and church historians believe Jesus may have been as old as 2 when the Magi arrived with their extravagant gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh.  We tend to refer to “3″ wise men because 3 gifts are specifically mentioned in scripture.  The Eastern Orthodox church tradition is that there were twelve distinguished foreigners.  These were also not simply “wise” men, or philosophers.  They were royalty.  They were kings from the east, most likely Babylon, or modern-day Iraq.  Kings don’t travel alone.  They were most likely a part of a large caravan, and the gifts of Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh, were more than likely not given in small quantities either.  After all, they traveled to Bethlehem following a singularly spectacular astronomical event, which they believed was a sign that the King of the Jews had been born.

Using your scripture enhanced imagination, envision this moment unfolding.  The toddler Jesus is at home, playing outside in the warm sun.  His mother Mary, not far away keeps a watchful eye over her precious son.  Perhaps Joseph is away at work building something to provide for his family’s needs.  Or perhaps he is there, sitting in the grass, talking with Mary and enjoying the sound of his son’s laughter.  In either case, it becomes impossible to ignore the sounds of the large caravan drawing near to their residence.  It becomes clear that the distinguished looking foreigners are not passing by, they have come to Joseph and Mary’s home.  Their faces filled with wonder, the visitors move toward the small family bearing precious gifts which are intended as offerings to a King.

This is where the universal principle of ”Don’t talk to strangers!” may have kicked in.  And this is the moment I want to point you to.  The child Jesus may have shied away from the strangers with extravagant gifts, bowing down before him.  Perhaps the entire caravan dismounted and knelt to the ground as their masters paid homage to the child.  Mary and Joseph knew who their son was.  They knew He was more than just the King of the Jews.  They remembered the angel’s pronouncements that this was God’s Son.  Mary adds another moment to her heart’s treasury which she would ponder over the years.

And so as the din of the caravan grows reverently silent, and the dignitaries have extended their beautiful gifts, the child Jesus looks to his parents for guidance and permission as to what to do.   In awe, Mary and Joseph nod their blessing.  ”Go ahead Jesus, you deserve these gifts and their worship.  Go ahead baby.  You deserve all this and more.”  In the still, a smile plays across the face of the little boy.  A smile plays across the face of God.

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Who are you anyway?

A mirror, reflecting a vase

Image via Wikipedia

Today when I was at home for lunch I had the bright idea to do a fun little experiment with the kids.  It all started when I made a crack to my son about his shorts and he looked down like, “I have shorts on!?”  My wife and I were eating at the table and the kids were playing in their rooms.  I decided to call them out one by one, tell them to close their eyes, and ask them what clothes they had on.

I called my son out first.  He closed his eyes just as he was asked and I said, “Describe what you are wearing.”  He kept his eyes closed but this incredulous look came over his face like, “You expect me to know that!”  I restated the question as he stood there in his brown t-shirt and grey shorts.  He stuttered a bit and then said in a questioning tone, “Blue shirt?”  Ha!  Wrong.  He opened his eyes, rolled them at his brown shirt and took off.

Next I called out my  8 year old daughter.  I gave her the same instructions and posed the question.  She stood there in stunned silence as my wife and I died laughing.  Finally she said, “What?”  She was stalling for time to think.  She brought her hands up and had to feel her night gown before she remembered.  Cheater.  We sent her off laughing.

Finally I called out the 3 year old.  I told her to close her eyes and she did.  (She had her hands full of puzzle pieces if you want the complete mental picture.) She was wearing a white t-shirt with some incriminating red Kool-aid stains on the sleeves.  I said, “What are you wearing?”  She squinted one eye, and peeked down with the other.  Even staring at her shirt she said, “White shirt?”  She was suspicious it was trick question.  “Good job!” we applauded!

I recently read that the gospel is so much more than a plan of salvation for the lost. It is the water in which a Christian swims everyday.  I have often been guilty of thinking of the Gospel as the diving board into the pool of Christianity.  But the reality is that the Gospel is the pool itself.  The beauty of this truth is that the deeper I swim into the Gospel the more I understand about who I am in Christ.  I realize that I am more sinful than I ever dared think, because my only possible remedy required God the Son sacrificing himself on my behalf.  In the wake of that terrible reality I realize that I am more loved than I ever dared dream, because Jesus did exactly that.  2 Corinthians tells us that “God had Christ, who was sinless, take our sin so that we might receive God’s approval through him.”

If you want to see yourself as you really are, take a look at yourself through the lens of the Gospel.   What you will see may surprise you, but it will be a surprise that will heal your heart. 

James 1 says in vs. 22-24 “Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.”

How many times have we heard God’s word taught, or read it ourselves telling us how we could find deep meaning in life through the message of the gospel; only to go on living  in frustration and confusion?  The only right response to the message of the scriptures is to embrace the love of Christ and allow it to shape us into the men and women God would have us be.   Otherwise it’s like wandering around not even knowing what kind of clothes you have on, or who you really are at all.

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Junk in the mix

I recently came across the following story in the appendix of a book by Rob Bell. It wasn’t “that one”, so relax.  It served as a good reminder for me.  I hope it speaks to you as well!

“Recently I saw my friend Josh, who teaches fifth and sixth graders. He was preparing the lesson for that day and had his supplies with him: a large glass bowl, a can of beef, fatty tissue, sauerkraut, a jar of olives, some anchovies, and a hundred dollar bill. I know – I was curious too. So I did exactly what you would have done. I asked him what the lesson was about. He replied, ‘I put all of the ingredients in a bowl, including the money, and then I mix it together. Then when it doesn’t taste good I pretend I am going to throw it away. At this point the kids go crazy, telling me not to. I ask them why I shouldn’t and they say, “Because its valuable”. And then I counter with, “But it smells and its disgusting.” At which point they rush to the front, volunteering to reach into the bowl and pull out the hundred dollar bill. Actually I may have to start using a twenty for this lesson, because the last time I used a hundred, they trampled each other to get to the front. I then read to them from Genesis chapter 1 about how every single human being bears the image of God, and how no matter what else is mixed in there, a person still has limitless worth in the eyes of God’.”

Isn’t this a powerful object lesson? We all have some junk in the mix don’t we? I know I do. Sometimes it makes me feel better to compare junk with others and convince myself that I have less than this person or that. But I need to be more mindful that no matter how much junk is in the mix, each person is one who has inherent value in the eyes of God. All of scripture is a testament in part to that fact.

But what about the people I live with and call my family. Do I focus more on their value or their junk? Maya Angelou has a wonderful quote, “If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love. Don’t be surly at home, then go out in the street and start grinning ‘Good morning’ at total strangers.” Point taken.

Aren’t you glad God is in the business of redemption? If we let Him, He washes our junk away, and rejoices in the value of who we are. I want to be more mindful of what God values, and less mindful of…other stuff.

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The Black Cloth

To me, one of the most beautiful expressions of the resurrection is a simple piece of cloth draped on a cross.  The sight of it, if we slow down long enough to see it, displays a deep truth that our souls long to know.

Timothy Keller gives a brilliant lecture on J.R.R. Tolkien sharing his faith by discussing  how the Gospel speaks to men’s deepest longings.  In it, he argues that the kinds of stories mankind returns to over and over again are stories which depict a love that is eternal,  a love without parting,  a love that overcomes death, and good utterly destroying evil.  All the great stories we love are stories about victory snatched from the jaws of defeat, and sacrificial heroism that brings life out of certain death. Tolkien points out that these are deep human longings.  These longings are woven into the fabric of our souls.  He says that human beings know at the fact level that people do have to die.  That evil often triumphs.  We know that, no matter how much you love someone, eventually you’re going to have to lose them, or that they’re going to lose you.  This is realism.  This is what modern thought tells us is the only reasonable way to look at the world.  We live, we hurt more than we’re happy, and we die.  End of story.  And yet underneath, all human beings feel that there shouldn’t be death.  We feel that we’re not meant to die.  We’re not meant to lose our loved ones.  Good should be triumphing over evil.  

Mankind was created in the image of God, and though marred by sin, we long for the things of God.  We long for reality to be what God intended it to be without the destructive presence of sin.  We long for perfect fellowship with God, unbroken by rebellion and without struggle.  We long to love and fear no loss or parting.  We long to wake up to the reality of life and find that death was only a bad dream.  We long for justice. 

And then, there it is.  That purple cloth draped on a cross for some weeks leading up to Easter.  It’s actually the liturgical color of violet that represents expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of Easter.

Then, on “Good Friday” the violet cloth comes down, and it is replaced by a cloth which represents death.  A black cloth. 

This is the moment when the realist points out the unreasonableness of hope.  Jesus did, after all, die.  His body was broken and did not withstand the punishment of the cross. He was taken from the cross and laid in a borrowed grave.  The religious leaders convinced the Romans to place a massive boulder at the tomb’s entrance.  His disciples cowered in fear and gave up hope.  The wisdom of the world would say that this is inevitably where all stories end.  The blackness of death. 

But then, no one cares for that kind of story.  This isn’t the kind of tale we tell ourselves in order to be touched down deep where inspiration happens.  There is that pesky longing again.  We long for what seems impossible.

I was privileged last year to preach an Easter sunrise service.  In the darkness of early morning I drove past our church, with its cross shrouded in black, and my head and heart were full of resurrection hope.  And then a thought occurred to me.  That black cloth needs to come down.  He’s alive and a black cloth is entirely wrong and inappropriate.  I pulled over, and walked back to the cross.  I was surprised by the surge of emotion I felt.  My eyes filled with tears as I ripped the black cloth of death from the cross.  It was my solemn pleasure.  Where there certainly had been death, there now is life.  Later that morning a white cloth of victory and new life found its place on the cross.

Those simple pieces of cloth had told the story.  Not just any story, but THE story.  Jesus’ story.  My story. 

Tolkien says so truthfully that, “There is no tale ever told that men would rather find was true [than the story of Jesus], and none which so many sceptical men have accepted as true on its own merits.  To reject it leads either to sadness or to wrath.”  On Fairy Stories

There is a reason Jesus’ story moves us on so many levels.  It’s true.  It’s everything we hope for and need to be true.  When I pulled that black cloth off of the cross, I pulled it off of my heart as well. 

This Easter morning, the cloth of death will be pulled from crosses all over the world.  My prayer is that it will fall from your heart as well.  May the story of Jesus also become your story.  Doesn’t your soul long for it?

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#socialmedia and your soul

I’ve been thinking lately about how social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter have made such a dramatic impact on how I interact with other people and my faith.  I’ve been active on these sites for a relatively short period of time in the grand scheme of things.  I had a MySpace page for like 5 minutes before I decided to upgrade to Facebook.  That was in 2008.  I started tweeting almost 3 years and 2575 tweets ago.  In a relatively short period of time my social horizons have widened tremendously.  I am more connected today to more people in meaningful ways than I ever have been.

One of the things I value the most about my experience is the connectedness I have gained with people who I otherwise may never have caught up with as regularly.  I also value the opportunity to interact with people whose ideas are influencing and inspiring me.  The other day I tweeted that I’d started reading a new book and that I was enjoying it.  Within 30 minutes I got a Direct Message from the author thanking me and making himself available for questions. 

But social media has had a tremendous impact on my experience as a believer as well.  In the next few lines I want to outline a few of the biggest ways that social media can be a blessing to your soul and experience as a Christian.

Exposure.  Proverbs 1:5 says, “A wise man will hear and increase in learning, And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel.”  If you make the effort, it is possible to build relationships with, and expose yourself to, wise men and women who will encourage and challenge you in your faith.  I am connected on Facebook with people who have blessed me with countless words of wisdom over the years.  If we weren’t interacting online, would I think to call all of them and ask questions or listen to their advice?  I doubt it, and I know it wouldn’t happen as easily and actively as it does now.  Also, I follow lots of men and women on Twitter who share bits of wisdom on a daily basis that I find helpful.  I follow professors, pastors, theologians, professionals, authors, and friends who write about their faith and experiences.  The exposure I have to their thoughts challenges and encourages me everyday.  Also, the more easily people can share everything from favorite songs to news articles and blogs, the more information we have at our fingertips to grow spiritually and learn about God.  If we connect in a wise way to the right people, the resources we have to deepen our faith and understanding are almost limitless.

Evaluation.  Proverbs 10:19 says, “Too much talk leads to sin.  Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.” NLT  I can’t say enough about this.  Social media provides  a wonderful opportunity to discipline ourselves so that what we say and share might be meaningful and not harmful.  You never know how what you tweet or share on Facebook might be received by someone.  What this means to me is that I need to be very thoughtful and intentional about what I say.  Of course this is true with my day-to-day speech, but I rarely  speak in person to several hundred people at a time.   I have the chance to do that online, and it holds me accountable to be disciplined.  The discipline of thinking things through before I put them out there for public consumption is invaluable.  Most people don’t have a strong enough filter between their brain and their mouth.  I don’t, I make mistakes all the time.   I know that what I say online can either bless, or cause a mess.  The discipline of stopping to think before I post is important.  I find that mental discipline carrying over to my day-to-day conversations as well.

A tweet cannot be more than 140 characters.  That’s not very many.  That means that what is said in a tweet has to be short and concise.  There are times in my days when something I read or hear gets me thinking about an idea.  Often its in regard to some spiritual truth that either encourages or challenges me in some way.  If I’m not intentional, I can get distracted and these moments can slip away without my really letting them sink in.  I find that if I pause long enough to form that thought into a statement of 140 characters or less and tweet it, it sticks.  It is the discipline of stopping long enough to meditate on important ideas.  I haven’t always had that discipline, and Twitter helps me in that area.

Evangelism. Sharing your faith effectively online, just like sharing your faith in person, requires wisdom, tact, and loving humility.  I find that it is so much easier to cultivate relationships with people who are far away from God on Facebook and Twitter than it is to have the time and opportunities to do so in person.  And honestly, I am convinced that online relationships are just as meaningful when it comes to being a blessing and encouragement to people who need it.  I am not saying that online relationships are all we need.  I am also not saying that you can type your testimony as a Facebook status and be exempt from sharing it face to face with anyone.  I am simply saying that I have lots of friends on Facebook that don’t know Jesus.  Some of them live far away and I never see them face to face.  Being friends on Facebook allows me the opportunity to thoughtfully interact with them in ways that will hopefully lead into opportunities for sincerely sharing my faith.  It also provides me a meaningful way to consistently live out a public expression of loving God, loving people, and serving the world.  If we are thoughtful, prayerful, and intentional, we can share Jesus through social media in a million meaningful ways.

These are just a few ways that social media has been good for my soul.  What would you add to the list?

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FBC Manhood Class (lesson MANuscript)

What does it mean to be a man? 

Professional billiards exhibition.

 Explain the example of the pool table.  In it we see the contrast between influence and passivity.  The biblical model for manhood in this example would be the man with the cue stick controlling the table.  The opposite of that ideal is the passive man.  This man is like the pool ball.  On its own, it just sits there.

In order to begin to understand the model for biblical manhood, we should start at the beginning.

Genesis 1:26  Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”27  God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.28  God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Genesis 2:15 “Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.16  The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17  but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

Man was created in the image of God.  God created man and gave him a purpose.

His first purpose was to trust God more than he trusted his own desires.  In other words, be obedient.  Don’t eat the fruit.  Love me and my command more than you love your own desires.

The second was to have a positive influence over his surroundings.  Scripture uses phrases like, “subdue the earth”, and “exercise dominion” when referring to these purposes.  He named the animals and was created to be their master.  God had a plan establishing things and preventing things from growing wild in the garden.  That plan was his man.

Gen 2:18  Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.”19  Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.20  The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.21  So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place.22  The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.  23  The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.”

The third purpose was for him to love and protect his family, or to begin with, his wife.  Adam immediately recognized that eve was bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh.  She was unlike any other creation God had made.  He knew she was his wife; God let him give her the title of “woman”.  God gave the command however, before he gave Adam his wife.  It was Adam’s responsibility to teach and lead her.  And he held Adam accountable first, even though it was Eve who took the first bite.

God gave men responsibility.  The subduing and exercising of dominion that He commanded boiled down to this.  Take responsibility for the purposes I have given you.

Taking responsibility according to the scriptures means that a man:

  1.  Love God more than he loves himself by following His commands.
  2. Have an intentional positive influence over his surroundings.  Engage disorder and subdue it.
  3.  Love and protect his family

Now you and I don’t live in a garden, so how can we make the connection?  Here are a few practical examples:

  •       Take responsibility for the bills that need to be paid (You may not write the checks yourself, but if your wife bears the stress with making ends meet with what you bring home, no matter how much it is, you are not taking responsibility).
  •       Chores that will help make your family’s life better need to be done.  They need to be subdued, and we need to see to it that we lead by example.
  •       Careers just don’t unfold before our feet.  Jobs must be subdued and mastered.
  •       If left undisciplined, our bodies become unhealthy and our flesh will rule us.  Take responsibility for your health and subdue it.
  •       Exercise dominion over sinful desires or they will exercise dominion over you.  You cannot cohabitate happily with sin.
  •       Sons and daughters are not born knowing how to grow up on their own.  Tend them, keep them, instruct them, and don’t farm that task out to your wife alone, or the school, or the church.  See personally that it gets done the way that it ought to.  Be engaged in their lives.
  •      Church mustn’t be a place your family wouldn’t go if your wife didn’t push it.  We need to take the initiative and be the one driving church attendance.  We cannot be godly men if we are not being clear with our families that church attendance is a priority.

We don’t see the danger of passivity in men anywhere more clear than in the case of the first chance in history a man had to defend his God and his wife.

Talk about Adam’s moment with the Serpent.

After he had taught his wife the command, Adam had every right to protect her.  It was his purpose.  He had every right not simply to argue with the Serpent, but to grab it by the neck and throw it out of the garden.  He had every right to put its head under his heel and call out for God.

After a man instructs his family, he has every right in responsibility to protect them against evil influence and temptation.  It is one of the ways that we show love.  We protect.  It’s what Jesus did that Adam didn’t. 

Jesus gave his life to protect us from the Serpents stinging bite.  He instructed us, and then took the sting on our behalf, defeating the Serpent.

Instead of following Jesus’ example, too many men follow Adam’s example.  They stand by passively, allow their wives to engage the enemy by protecting their family, and bear the burden of exercising dominion over the home. 

I Cor. 13:11 Says when I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child: Now that I have become a man I have put away childish things.

One of the main ways we will discover that scripture defines manhood is through rejecting passivity and taking responsibility for the purposes God gave man in the garden.

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A “Dear Santa” letter I’ll never forget

Santa Claus with a little girl

Image via Wikipedia

I appreciate David Lambert bringing this to my attention today.

I would have missed it.  A local newspaper printed a bunch of “Dear Santa” letters from elementary school age children in Thomson.  My daughter’s letter was one of those printed.

Scattered about the busy and frenzied days of our lives are brief shining moments when we are blessed to see the fruit of our labor.  As parents we strive to read the right books to our children, show them the right movies, guide them toward the right experiences.  We pray and plan, all in an effort to help our kids get it.  It’s a delicate balance.  Don’t force it.  Don’t be too strict or too pushy, but don’t be too lax either. 

We stressed over how to do the whole “Santa” thing.  I never wanted to be the self-righteous Santa hating Christian dad.  Too uptight.  Bonnie and I wanted to sincerely teach them that it was OK to have fun with Santa…but believe in Jesus.  We want to strike the right balance.  We want the kids to understand what really matters in life.

Below is the text of my daughter’s letter (complete with original spelling):

Dear Santa,

How is Rouldolph?  Is he lighting the way?  Could I have some snuggle animals that look like your raindeer?  Could I have a new girl Wii game?  The true meaning of Christmas is Jesus.  Did you know that?  I hope so. 

Your friend,

Summer

I choked back the tears as I read the last words.  That’s my girl.  Pure, honest, sincere.  May I be so genuine when I share my faith.

Do you know my Summer’s Jesus?

I hope so.

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Sudden Joy

Bust of Emperor Augustus wearing the Corona Ci...

Image via Wikipedia

This is the blog I wrote for our Advent Devotional this year.  Merry Christmas!  May you be blessed.

Joy

By David Walker

The prophet Malachi spoke of two messengers.  First he spoke of a messenger who would prepare the way for “The Lord.”  We know now that this referred to John the Baptist, who proclaimed the coming of Christ in the wilderness.  The second messenger Malachi spoke of was The Lord Himself, the One who would come with THE message.  It’s probably better to understand that Jesus was not bringing the message, but that He WAS the message.  Jesus didn’t simply tell the Good News, He is the Good news.

Malachi closes the Old Testament case for Christ with these urgent words of God:

Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming, says the Lord of hosts. –Malachi 3:1

And then there was nothing for 400 years.  There was prophetic silence from God for four centuries.  During that time, The Hellenistic Empire of Alexander the Great rose and fell.  But God used those years and Alexander’s influence to spread abroad throughout the civilized world one culture and one language.  This made it possible for the preaching of Jesus to spread so quickly.

Another world power rose during that time, The Roman Empire.  The Romans built roads and infrastructure that God would use to spread the joy of His Son’s coming.  God was silent, but He was there.  W.A. Criswell beautifully puts what happened next, “When Augustus Caesar was the Roman emperor and when Rome had the entire world in her hand, the great prophecy of Isaiah and the great prophecy of Micah and the great prophecy of Nathan to David and the great prophecy of Jacob to his son Judah and the great promise of God Almighty to Eve in the Garden of Eden came to pass.”

Just as Malachi said…suddenly…JOY came into the world.  Out of darkness and silence, 400 years of it, the cry of a baby tore through the night announcing the arrival of the Joy.

Perhaps you may feel that God has left unanswered promises in your life.  Perhaps you feel that too much time has passed since you heard from God.  Perhaps there are earth-shattering events that have forever changed the landscape of your life and heart.  It is my prayer that you will find this a sweet reminder that God is never far away and that He never forgets His promises.  Out of the darkness and silence and unimaginable circumstances of your life, JOY can come.

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“The War on Christmas”

In the car on the way to a large retail store you hear on the radio that there seems to be a trend this holiday season that has many Christians unsettled.  It appears that there are numerous stores and communities which are removing the phrase “Merry Christmas” from their signage and customer greetings this…Christmas.  You roll your eyes and mumble something about political correctness…but in your heart there rises a tremor of indignation.  They can’t take Christ out of Christmas.  How dare they.

You shop for a while and, because you heard the news report, notice that there are indeed no signs that say “Merry Christmas”, but the “Happy Holidays” phrase is everywhere.  That tremor of indignation evolves into a rumble of self-righteousness.  This pagan culture is trying to ignore the baby in the manger, or so the thoughts go.  As you check out you’ve been simmering for a while.  Your pulse is quick and for the moment you feel that you are on the front lines of a culture war, the lone defender of the true meaning of Christmas.  As the 19-year-old cashier hands you your receipt she utters the words you have been bracing yourself against, as if they were a personal threat.  ”Happy Holidays”, she says with what you are sure is a patronizing smile.  And you react.  “Merry Christmas”, you spit at her.  Take that!  I will not be robbed of the significance of my savior’s birth!

While this may seem funny, it’s real.  It is happening every day.  Pastors are mounting crusades to publicly shame retailers who “leave Christ out of Christmas”.  Sunday School teachers warn of the culture’s threatening intentions regarding this sacred holiday.  From pulpits, articles, and pamphlets to Fox News, the finger has been pointed.  Conspiracy theorist Christians are all up in arms.  We have all been warned, there is a war against Christmas.

And when Christians decide that they will take up arms and fight this war, they make a mistake far worse than those few who really might want to leave Christ out of the holiday.

We are not loyal to Christ by being rude and mean to those who would leave Him out of Christmas.

Sometimes I wonder if those who seem most threatened by this trend feel more of a fierce loyalty to Christmas or to Christ.  In “setting the pagans straight” for leaving Christ out of Christmas, some are leaving the love out of Christ.

For those of you keeping score at home, that is a whole lot worse than someone who is far away from God acting like someone who is far away from God.

It is always fascinating to me how shocked and offended Christians can be when people who don’t know God act like people who don’t know God.  What did you expect?  The kid whose parents are divorced and is working at that retail store to help pay the light bill because her now single mother has cancer…the one who just checked your $200 worth of stocking stuffers out and is wondering how she might buy her baby brother a new pair of shoes…the one who constantly gets judged by Christians like you instead of loved and helped…did you expect her to cherish that baby in the manger you just used as a weapon against her?

1 Corinthians 13 has a nice reminder for us, “ If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.”

So the next time we get tempted to be culture warriors defending Christmas, may we remember that graciousness is more loyal to Christ than gracelessness.

Jesus never shamed anyone into following himself.  Why should we?

Happy Holidays.