Christmas Throughout the Year

Preparing for Christmas comes earlier and earlier each year. In years gone by, I remember decorations coming out in retail stores after Thanksgiving. Then some marketing expert discovered that the earlier advertisements, decorations and specials came out, the more money consumers would spend. It created a larger window in which to capitalize on what most people count as their favorite holiday of the year.

Now little ones start making their lists in January or even late December - sometimes before the Christmas decorations are put away. People plan Christmas in July projects and stores start decorating in September. Many people, including me, prepare for Christmas all year long - taking advantage of discounted wrapping paper, cards and decorations after the season is over and always on the lookout for Christmas gifts for next year.

The gifts are put in their proper place. The wrapping paper and boxes are either thrown away or stored. The house gets put back in order. The non-stop eating ceases and everyone gets serious about being healthier and focusing on projects that were put on hold during the Christmas holidays.

I do own a lot of Christmas decorations - some collected from countries all over the world, but my

favorite is something my young son made me one year. He knew I wanted a nativity set and he started making one for me out of clay. He said he only had time to make one piece, but had started with the most important piece. He never finished it, but that was fine with me. I now have several nativity sets. One beautiful handmade ceramic set was given to me by a dear friend. I think of her with gratitude each time I display it. In the center of that nativity I place the piece made by my son those many years ago - the baby Jesus in the manger.

My son was right. The nativity is nothing without Jesus. Christmas was the beginning of the fulfillment of His plan to give us the most important gift we could ever receive. By choice, His cradle led to His cross and my salvation. I am grateful for that gift every day - not just on Christmas.

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!... For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God (2 Corinthians 9:15, Ephesians 2:8 NKJV).

Sunrise on Christmas Day

People around the world look forward to sunrise on Christmas day with eager anticipation, especially young ones. Children who have been told that they cannot look under the Christmas tree until after sunrise can hardly wait for the sun to come up. They hardly sleep the night before and when the slightest hint of light comes out in the morning, they run to their parents and ask, "May I get up now? May I see what Santa brought?"

The traditions of Christmas are about family, food and gifts. Some people spend all year thinking about the next Christmas. They shop a little during the year, hide the gifts away and save up for the special treats that the family loves to eat at Christmas time. More books, songs and movies revolve around Christmas than any other holiday. It is a celebration for people of all nations and cultures, even for those who do not believe in the Christ who made it all possible.

The first Christmas was anticipated for centuries. The prophets spoke about the coming of the Christ child long before that day Mary gave birth to Him and laid Him in a manger. Mary herself must have been excited about the dawn of the day when the promise given to her was born from her own body. That sunrise brought her Son to her and to the world.

As people choose Christmas gifts, they put much thought into it because they want to please the ones they love. Sometimes that entails sacrifice on their part. They may scrimp and save in order to get that special item to wrap and put under the tree.

The gift of the Son to save the world was planned by God before time began. He knew the gift that was needed and He sacrificed much in order to give that gift. God's love for us is so great that He was willing to suffer to give us the gift that we needed most.

As the sun rose on that first Christmas, one day the Son will rise again. What God promises He fulfills.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

Joseph, The Man in the Background in the Nativity

When unpacking my Christmas decorations, I love pulling out and setting up my collection of nativity scenes. It is the picture of the real Christmas story: the gift of the Son of God to the world.

Jesus is the central figure in the nativity scene. It would not mean anything without Him. When I am placing the other figures around Him, I usually place Mary behind His right and Joseph behind Him on the left.

The placing of Joseph in the nativity scene is somewhat symbolic of his life. He is the man in the background. Many stories have been written about how Mary was chosen to be the mother of our Savior, but little has been said about the man who was chosen by God to raise His son.

Matthew tells us more about Joseph than anyone else. Like me, I think Matthew must have been impressed with this humble man who loved God, loved the mother of His Son and loved His Son in a way that no one else could.

After Mary told him she had been chosen to bear the Christ child, Joseph had the first of his dreams that included instructions from God. The angel in the dream told Joseph not to be afraid but to wed Mary as he had planned.

Joseph was visited by an angel of the Lord in his dreams at least twice more. After the visit of the wise men, he was instructed in a dream to take his family to Egypt because Herod wanted to kill the child. He was told to stay until he was visited again. After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to go to the land of Israel.  Joseph settled in the city called Nazareth, thus fulfilling the prophecy about Jesus that He would be a Nazarene.

Joseph is mentioned again when he and Mary found Jesus conversing with the teachers in the temple. When Mary questioned Jesus as to why He had not come with them when they left the city, Jesus said, "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" (Luke 2:49). This is the last time Joseph is mentioned, so he must have died between the time Jesus was twelve and the beginning of His ministry.

Although Jesus' brothers resented Him and for a long time did not believe in Him, that was not true of Joseph. He did not resent raising a Son that was not his own. He accepted that assignment from God without question.

Joseph was an unusual man, humble and obedient. What Jesus learned about carpentry, he learned from Joseph. Joseph must have also taught Jesus much about His Father's word as well, for we know that Jesus learned the Scripture as a child.

I am looking forward to meeting Joseph in heaven, the man in the background in the nativity.

Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus. (Matthew 1:24-25).

Christmas is coming

Spending a delightful day in mid-November in London, England, it was obvious that the city was preparing for Christmas. The stores, the streets, the advertisements all reminded one that "Christmas is coming." Particularly enjoyable was a stroll through Covent Garden Market, where the decorations were all in full display. The gigantic Christmas tree was adorned in only lights and balls of all sizes.  Overhead were gigantic red balls dangling from the rooftop of the market square. A hugh reindeer made of greenery was adorned with white lights.

Throughout the city the decorations were classic - large stars lit with white lights hung between the buildings on the main thoroughfares. Store displays were being dressed in Christmas colors and packages were lying in the windows all around with a gentle reminder that gifts would be needed for father, mother, aunt, son, daughter, uncle, aunt and cousin.

As a Christian, I am aware that preparation for Christmas in much of the world is a secular activity. On the web and in the mail, the announcements that Christmas is coming are in hopes that people will buy their products for Christmas gifts. Many people are simply looking forward to time off from work and the family traditions surrounding the most popular holiday of the year.

Unfortunately, few are experiencing the inner reminder that without the first Christmas, there would be no Easter. Without the coming of the Christ child, His perfect life, His substitutionary death on the cross and His resurrection, there would be no hope for eternal life. Whether or not stores, streets and homes are decorated with the intent to honor Christ, the decorations can speak for themselves, just as the Bible says that the rocks would cry out if people fail to worship God.

All of the decorations in London did, however, remind me of the first Christmas - the coming of Immanuel, God with us. The balls reminded me of a globe - our world and the planets and stars of the universe. The Christ who was born in the nativity is the One who created the universe and our world. The trees and the reindeer caused me to reflect on how He adorned our earth with plants and animals and all that is good. As I gazed at the stars hanging over the streets, I envisioned the star that led the wise men to the Christ child. The lights everywhere - in white - made me think of Jesus, the Light of the world.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...Through him all things were made...In him was life, and that life was the light of men (John 1:1, 3-4).