“When you need Jesus that much, day in, and day out, and He continues to deliver, day in, and day out. You kind of want to throw Him a party! ”
Is there something wrong with this picture? You be the judge. They're both in their seventies. Their family has all grown up and moved hundreds of miles away. She's had every ailment known to humanity! To begin with, she has a back which can only be described as a crumbling jigsaw of affliction. Movement for her, is a conscious act of the will; a cane, her comrade in the war to keep independent. Such suffering would be enough from most, but she also has stomach problems, a balance problem, a hearing problem, a rash from head to toe that itches constantly and skin so thin that the least bump or scrap brings major bruising and bleeding. Think of Job's sister on a bad day and you get the picture. Meanwhile, he's had a couple of heart attacks and a stroke and his medication makes him tired most of the time.
I really thought that this year would be the year that all their Christmas decoration business would stop. They just aren't able. . . It would be crazy . . . Why? . . . And yet I was at their place this weekend and their trailer was once again, decked out in fa-la-la-la finery. I really can't describe the transformation that takes place every year, it's an overwhelming experience that turns even the oldest heart into a kid again. I love the inside of their house, it's magical. This year, it took them over three weeks to complete the task. It was three weeks of weariness and added pain, but, boy, did they get the job done — bigger and better than ever! The long runway down the center of the trailer has thousands of lights alone. Then there are the windows and the ceilings. We haven't even started to talk about what's outside!
I bet many of you are thinking that these people are crazy. Why go to all that trouble? They're so sick! Why bother? Especially, when family won't be here to enjoy this dazzling delight. It just doesn't make sense. Or does it?
I believe it does. You see, you can say whatever you want about lights and trees and bits and baubles. You can sermonize all you want on the pagan 'wases' and the commercial, materialistic 'ises' about Christmas. But, for these two dear Christian people, Christmas is worth every ache and pain and stretch and strain because, to them, Christ is Christmas, each day, every day. I believe that every light and every splash of green and red were put in place as loving acts of worship.
Ah, Grant, but aren't there better ways to show your love and appreciation to the Lord? What about sharing with your neighbor, or giving to the poor? Well, they've always done that too, and not just at Christmas! You see these people aren't "Sunday" Christians. They're the real thing. Yeah, but still . . .
Hey, I understand, believe me, I do. After all, what's so important about a bunch of lights and some plastic? Nothing really. Nothing that is, unless you go through more pain in one day than most people go through in a year and you know that the only thing that's getting you through that pain is your FAITH IN JESUS! Both of these precious people cling to life only because they cling to Christ and He lifts them up every day. To my way of thinking, when you need Jesus that much, day in, and day out, and He continues to deliver, day in, and day out. You kind of want to throw Him a party! These two know more than most what it meant for Jesus, the eternal Son of God, to enter into this world as a babe, because these two, more than most, rely on Jesus, the sacrificed Savior and resurrected Lord. So, if they want to spend three weeks of sacrifice and pain to give Jesus a birthday bash overflowing with love and gratitude, who are we to judge? That is, unless you've walked a mile in their shoes. I doubt anyone is going to take me up on that offer.
This year I've gotten my fair share of angry email from Christians who have pointed and scoffed at the fact that I would stoop so low as to participate in Christmas. I understand their perspective since I had it once myself. I would also be the first to acknowledge that Christmas is far from perfect. But, at the same time, the one thing I have learned this year, perhaps more than any other is this: Christmas is what you make it. It's in the way you approach Christmas that makes it holy or "whoreific". Christmas, and every other day for that matter, is about motivation. Why do we do what we do? Do we do them for Christ?
There are still Christians of a simple and a sincere and a deep faith that marvel at the Son of God come in the flesh. There are still Christians who draw close to Christ and consider God's gift of His Son in a particularly meaningful and powerful way at this time of year. Christmas can be profound, or profane; spiritual, or material. It all depends on our motivation and attitude. Whatever you do, whether you abstain or celebrate, do it out of your love for Christ. Either way, you will be honoring Christ, and that's what Christmas, that's what life, is really all about!