We have a message on our sign that says, "without Christ there is no Christmas." There is a wonderul, heart warming feeling about this time of year. A time of gathering, giving and receiving. Plans are made sometimes months ahead while others plan with moments to spare.
Some pursue the sales after Christmas with the forethought of buying for friends and family with 12 months to go. Others such as myself have difficulty with purchasing the special gift for that special person. So...we go to the standard bearer of our times, "the gift card." Why do we give gift cards? First we are in a daze as to what to buy. Second we are on limited budgets and gift cards are easy to monitor spending and everyone gets the same thing in an effort to be fair to all.
There is another underlying reason that we are not in need of much so we don't want to buy something that will go on a shelf, in a drawer or be "re-gifted" next year. Yet there is another reason for our dilemma. We perhaps have lost the true meaning of Christmas and are so busy we are unable to give the attention to one and all.
God did not phrase our idea of Christmas yet He works within the confines of our own effort and futility. God sent forth His only begotten Son in the fullness of time so that each of us might receive the "gift" of salvation when we ask Him. The uniqueness of God and His ways are beyond our ability to comprehend therefore we must in faith believe Him and see Him through he eyes of faith. Yet God puts His glory all around us. The heavens declare His glory. The earth shows forth His handiwork for all to see and experience. The wonders we can see are only a part of the wonders yet to be seen.
Christmas brings those who celebrate the day seems to bring each of us to a time of giving and receiving just as it began in God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
Take a little time and think about this great day, try to wade through and past the commercial aspects that man has built, bend down with Thanksgiving and look into an empty tomb then look up and see Jesus risen and victorious. This then will enable each to start the year anew and fresh in spirit and soul. May God bless each of you.
Walter Rose
Pastor
985-447-2101
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