buildingbodies4christ

All I want for Christmas

My Mom used to say “there will always be a Santa Claus as long as you believe.” When we were growing up, Christmas was BIG. We got most of all our “wants” and a few of our needs. I would sit with the Christmas catalog from Sears Roebuck for hours figuring out what I really wanted for Christmas. My list was filled with the latest toy or gadget.

We had traditions that we established over the years. We all had our favorite items that Mom would incorporate into her menu planning. Things changed a bit when my sisters got married. Christmas morning didn’t seem to be as exciting as when we were all under the same roof. Then nephews came along and the excitement crept back in with each squeal of discovery. After my parents moved back to my hometown, it just became the three of us on Christmas morning. The large family gathers after all the other family units have their celebrations. The traditions took a little bit of tweaking with each passing year.

As I have grown older, my Christmas wish list has gotten smaller. But the things on it have been more expensive. Last year, I needed a new heating unit. Another year, I needed new tires. Of course, these were “needs” not “wants.” My wants have really become less and less as I try to live more simplistic. Over the last few years though, since my Mom has gone home, I realized Santa Claus no longer exists. Christmases are just not the same. We try to keep the same traditions we grew up with. We incorporate our favorite dishes into our menu planning. But it hasn’t been the same, and it never will be. I’m okay with that now.

Since Mom’s departure, I realized it’s not about the stuff anyway. My family is important to me. Jesus is important to me. All I really want for Christmas, now, is to love Jesus more. I want to spend the time wisely with my family as we never know what will change before next Christmas. If everything is stripped away, would it still be Christmas to me? I want fresh eyes to see Christmas in a new way. I want to see the Christmas story in the light of a new believer experiencing the joy of Christmas for the first time.

The Christmas story is a precious gift to us. We are given new life through Jesus’ birth. We are given a new hope through Mary’s submission. We are given a new joy as the shepherds experienced a glorious appearing. We are given a picture of humbleness, of peace, of love that is not matched in any other way in history. There has been no other birth that has changed the world as this one.

Jesus said He came to give us life – abundantly. He came to save us from our sins, but He came for so much more. If we are only getting the “get out of hell” ticket punched by Jesus’ death, we have failed to see the life that Jesus gives. Freedom. Redemption. Relationship. Joy. Peace. Love. Jesus came to remove the obstacle of religious tradition – He ripped the curtain wide open, so that we could have a relationship with God, the Father through Him, God’s Son.

Christmas might be different now than when I was a child; but the anticipation of Christmas is still here. It might look different, but Jesus is still the reason for the season. I appreciate the reason so much more today than I did as a child. Santa may be dead for me, but Jesus is alive and well. That’s the way I really want it. That’s all I really want for Christmas anyway; Jesus to be alive and well in my soul.

The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” Luke 2:11-14 (NLT)