Where’s Leonard Been and What Do You Give to Someone Who has
Everything?
Hi All!
A few people asked why I haven’t been blogging. I’m sure a far greater number of people
quietly breathed a sigh of relief when I was no long appearing on their
Facebook Newsfeed on a more than daily basis.
I’ve been blogging on the passages from a study my church is
doing on The Story, a 30 plus week survey through the major portions / themes
of the Bible. Well, for the month of
December we’ve taken a break from The Story for a sermon series on Christmas
Hymns. While interesting, not exactly my
cup of tea. So I’ve taken a bit of a
break. I’ll be back to The Story in
another week or so.
But, and you knew there had to be a but, with all the
“Christmas” advertising I’ve noticed something. I’ll have to admit that in one way I’m kind
of glad that all the stores have Holiday sales and not
Christmas Sales. Why? Well, I’m all for the gift giving (but please
don’t break your budget) but I’m pretty sure what the stores are selling isn’t
really Christmas. I’ll explain.
There are ads for clothes, thanks for the socks
Grandma. There are ads for toys. There are ads for electronics and gadgets and
stuff of the house. There are ads for
everything. I even heard a radio ad the
other day for a digital tire pressure gauge from the local auto parts store.
Then there are these ads, “What do you get for someone who
has everything?” You’ve probably heard
that phrase at least a few times during the “Christmas” shopping season. The idea is, what could you possibly give to
someone who already has everything that they need or want. Of course the irony is that the ads posing
this question then go on to recommend things that you could actually give to
someone who has everything. Name a star
after them. Make a donation in their
name to a charity. Get them a bigger,
better, more expensive version of something they already have.
But I believe that it is fundamentally impossible to have
everything. Matthew 6:26 tells us, “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but
lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” We’ve made “Christmas about the stuff of the
world. We’ve made “Christmas” about
presents. We’ve made “Christmas” about
family. We’ve made “Christmas” about
lights and decorations and parties. And
all of that stuff is okay. But none of
it is about the real meaning of Christmas.
If I was to paraphrase Matthew 6:26 for Christmas it would be something
like this: “What will it benefit you if
you celebrate the holiday, if you have all the decorations, all the presents
and even all your family if you don’t know or lose track of the true meaning of
Christmas, which is the coming of Christ our Lord and Savior?”
Earlier in the passage, Matthew 6:24 tells us, "No one can serve two masters. For you
will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the
other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
The ads can try to sell stuff that money can buy. But they can’t sell God. You can’t really chase after all that stuff
and still chase after Christ. They can’t
sell Christ whose birth Christmas is really all about. The ads can’t sell salvation. Because our salvation has already been paid
in full and offered to us as a free gift from God. That’s the true gift of Christmas from God
through Christ our Lord and Savior.
So I’m okay with “Holiday Sales” because the sales and the
stuff aren’t really what Christmas is about.
Christmas is about the free gift of God which is salvation through His
Son Jesus Christ. And if you have that
gift, then you truly have everything.
God, thank You for the greatest of all possible gifts. Thank you for this season that can remind us
how much You really love us. Thank You that
You would send Your Son to be born as a Man, to live His life, to suffer and
die on the cross and to rise again. All
of this so that we could have Your Precious gift of Salvation. God, thank You for the Child in a manager who
was starting His earthly journey to be the Savior of the world. Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment