Commercial Christmas

You had better hurry! Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. If you want to get a jump on things, you should go ahead and start decorating with hearts & doilies today! I know you’re still munching on Thanksgiving turkey and the Christmas tree just got plugged in for the first time. But, apparently that’s perfectly OK. Now is the time to start thinking ahead and begin buying roses, cards & candy for February.

It seems that every year the marketing starts flying at us earlier & earlier. Nowadays, you can begin stocking up on glitzy ornaments and overpriced wrapping paper in late September at some stores. If you’re a shopoholic or just like maxing out credit cards, then Commercial Christmas has your name written all over it!

Many battles have been fought over the last couple of years about calling this time of the year the ‘Holiday Season’ instead of ‘Christmas’. The reason: to make room for other faiths & winter celebrations and to keep from offending some with the name of Christ. But I wonder, if people are really not going to keep Christ in ‘Christmas’ in the truest sense, would it actually be better to just call it the ‘Holidays’? After all, if this time of the year has been boiled down to songs about Santa, slick marketing ads, flashing outdoor lights and enticing buy-one-get-one-free-sales, would Jesus really want his name associated with it?

We’ll soon begin hearing people talk about ‘the true reason for the season’. You mean it’s not about checking off items from my consumer wishlist as family, friends & coworkers spend more money than they have on things I don’t really need? Hmmmm…. Then what IS the season all about?

It’s about a baby.

But, not just any baby – the God baby. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Deity submitting Himself to wear skin for awhile. Royalty choosing to experience our poverty. Light piercing the darkness. Perfection willingly immersing himself in the stench and decay of a sin-tainted world. Glory veiling itself. Holiness dwelling among filth. The Author of creation wrapped in swaddling clothes, GOD asleep in a manger.

It’s about grace.

It’s about love. It’s about our need. It’s about the Savior invading our world. It’s about Christ. And it doesn’t matter what it’s called if followers of Jesus will set apart God in our hearts this season.

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” I Peter 3:15.

Will you keep ‘Christ’ in your Christmas?

A Lesson From Spanky

As a child, I watched “The Little Rascals” as reruns on TV. I can only remember a few scenes from all the episodes I saw. And even the ones I can recall are fuzzy in my memory. I do vaguely remember that in one of the episodes, Spanky was babysitting. And either because the baby was crying or just because he wanted to be free from the responsibility, Spanky spread tar on the baby’s diaper. Then, he stuck the baby inside a kitchen cabinet and closed the door! The baby was stuck in there. And, of course, he kept crying.

I bring this up for a couple of reasons.

(1) While working with a group of teens this past week, it came out that none of the teenagers knew there used to be a show called “The Little Rascals”. They thought the 1994 movie version was a new creation that stood on its own. They were totally unaware of the show that began as “Our Gang” back in 1922.

(2) As believers, leaders, guardians, parents & teachers – we can’t just stuff crying babies under the sink! It is up to us to make sure this generation and the ones coming up after it do not forget the GREAT STORY OF GOD. The evidence is crying out all around us. People are more and more forgetting God and His ways. The memories are becoming fuzzy – like my unsure recollection of an old TV episode.

Our world, our nation, our town is seeing a new generation that doesn’t know [or realize they don't know] the rich history of the Christian faith. They feel like it’s just some independent thing that exists apart from anything relevant to their lives. Instead of a newer movie with roots going back to a much-loved series, they see Christianity as an old black and white film that has no bearing on the lives they’re living today. That’s where we come in…

“…I will teach you hidden lessons from our past- stories we have heard and know, stories our ancestors handed down to us. We will not hide these truths from our children but will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord. We will tell of his power and the mighty miracles he did.” Psalm 78:2-4

Our children are crying out for hope, for direction, for relevance, for meaning. We know where all these things can be found. But – listen closely – it is not enough to just tell them about Jesus & righteousness & love & faith. We must live it out before their very eyes in vibrant, 3-D, technicolor, action-packed reality. A simple retelling of the old stories simply will not do.

The young ones are crying out. Just shoving the babies under the sink will not stop their heart-felt tears. Let’s do what it takes to meet the spiritual needs of this generation. The way of Spanky won't get it done.