I love the Christmas season. The lights, decorations, the music (which I listen to all year round, especially the rock and punk versions of classic songs), the food, and of course, the reason for the Christmas season: Jesus.
I wish it wasn’t so easy to forget about the true meaning of Christmas. On Thanksgiving we give thanks for everything we have. We spend time with our loved ones and watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. We watch some football and eat a bunch of good food. We’re thankful that we’re able to even do those things, because some people can’t do that stuff.
The very next day, though, we head out well before the sun rises to grab the best deals we can for Christmas gifts. It’s not as bad as some other places around our great nation, but there are still arguments and fights. We fight over big screen TVs. We fight over Hulk Hogan action figures. We fight over MacBooks. We fight over Matchbox cars. We fight over parking spots. We fight over PlayStations and X-boxes.
What does it all lead to? A smile on someone’s face on Christmas morning, or whenever you might open your gifts? As much as I want to see the smile on my kids’ faces on Christmas morning when they open their Paw Patrol or Blippi toys, it’s not the end of the world if they don’t get those toys. I’m not going to fight someone over the last toy on the shelf. Those toys aren’t the reason we have Christmas.
I can only imagine what God thinks when he looks down here and sees us give thanks for everything we have on Thanksgiving, and then the very next day call someone a bad name because of some toy or TV or something. We can’t take it with us when we leave anyway.
I’m not saying I don’t like giving or receiving gifts, but the earthly gifts we give and receive are nothing compared to the gifts that God gives us. God gives us more gifts than we realize. The gift of music. The gift of the ability to speak in public. The gift of being able to fix cars. The gift of being really good at math. The gift of eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven. And perhaps the greatest gift of all, Jesus, who came into this world to save us, so we can have that eternal life.
Pastor Kyler Meyers
Cedar Valley Methodist Church
Nichols Methodist Church