Christmas in a Whole New Light

The countdown to Christmas has officially begun and I have never been so excited about it! As I move further along in my journey I find that there is a new, more powerful meaning to the Christian holidays that have been commercialized beyond belief. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy shopping for gifts (and receiving them!) and the weekends that are packed with parties and get-togethers of all sorts, and even dragging down 5 boxes of Christmas ornaments, lights and knick-knacks, only to choose my favorites and pack the three boxes worth that are left back into the attic. My husband and I discussed our options for the ever-important Christmas dinner menu this evening and are looking forward to our annual Christmas shopping weekend in Cincinnati.
All of these things are exciting in themselves, but I am now seeing it all in a whole new light...the light of Jesus Christ. I am so thankful for that star that led the wise men to meet our Savior. I have always known the real reason for Christmas, but it isn't until now that I ever really thought about what my life, what our lives, would be like today if Christ had not been born to us so long ago.
In the midst of the debates regarding the most politically correct way to wish someone a "Merry Christmas," I obviously choose to say it to everyone I can. As someone that is still fighting the inner battle of coming across as "too Christian", I consider this to be open-season on spreading the Good News. Despite what the media might lead us to believe, in my experience, most non-Christians are not offended by the salutation, and in fact, it could end up being the opening line of my testimony. How exciting to think that in my dilemma of how to purchase presents for all the loved ones on my list, I could be giving the highest-priced gift of all, that just happened to cost me absolutely nothing...the gift of God's grace, paid for by Jesus Christ, and hand-delivered by me...I don't even have to fight the crowd at the post office ;)

If there are any objections

The sermon series that we have had going for the past couple of weeks now is "What's on Your Mind?" It's questions that have been asked by those that attend our church, and I'm also guessing, just about anyone that has considered becoming a Christian or felt the need to justify not being one. It has been very eye-opening, as I thought that I was soooo insightful and independent to have the following concerns with Christianity and religion...I soooo wasn't! I was just as much of a sheep then as I am now, I just chose a different Shepherd.

So, although I may have mentioned some of these in past blogs, let's review my oh-so-original reasons for not committing my life to God sooner...

I would believe the Bible if God had written it and not man.

It turns out that if I believed in God (as I always have) and believed that prayer would help me through my problems and decisions, then why is it so hard to believe that He might have had enough control over what went into it? I know there's that really big thing called "free-will", but make no mistake, it's nothing for God to make a manuscript disappear or place it just the right place that it would be found.

The stories in the Bible are just stories. They have good morals, but I don't think they actually happened the way they're told. At the very least, they've got to be hyperboles.

To be honest with you, the jury is still out for me when it comes to enough hard-science proof that it all actually happened exactly the way it's written. But when it comes to faith and the amazing things that I have seen happen in my life and in lives around me, I've got all the hard-evidence I need.

I'll go to Heaven if I lead a good life. I don't have to buy into the religion of accepting Jesus Christ as my Savior.

I wasn't baptized at a young age because of a disagreement between my parents and their families' beliefs on this subject. There was a time that I was bitter about that, especially because I was never taken to church and given the choice. Now, I'm glad that's how it happened. I'm a people-pleaser and a parent-pleaser, so I probably would have just chosen what I thought would make them most proud of me. But not now; I had to step out on a limb for this one. My husband and I had argued about going to church several times. I was being led to go and he was not. I finally told him that I had been invited by Tammy and I was going. I told him that it sounded like this was a lot different than what he had seen growing up. So, we went. The journey began.

On this journey, I have learned (without a single browbeating for being a sinner) that I don't really lead all that good of a life. God doesn't grade on a curve, so all those people that I look at and think, "Well, I'm certainly doing better than them," doesn't mean squat to God. In fact it's frowned upon by God as a form of judgement that I'm not entitled to.

What Dean said at the end really brought it home for me though. God let his Son DIE for us, so that we could be saved. Jesus was in agony, sweating blood, praying to God that if there was "any other way" besides this sacrifice to pay the debt of sin, then let's do that. Do you really think that God would let them crucify his only Son and then say, "Well, you didn't accept Jesus, but you were good so we'll let you in." Would God dishonor his Son like that?! NO!!!

John baptized people by free-will, in anticipation of the Salvation that was coming over the horizon. He died for me and all that is asked of me is the choice to love him and love others. That's all it takes to honor what He has done for me...and it's an honor for me to be able to do it!

Our church's sermons can be watched or listened to here: http://www.harmonychristianchurch.com/sermons.shtml