’Tis the season to be jolly. Fa la la la la, Humf. It is sad when I can identify more with the Grinch than with Santa Claus. Where is that holiday spirit? I don’t see what all this holiday cheer is about.
I look around at our country; it is going down the tubes faster and faster. I look at our way of life, and it is disappointing. I see the world in chaos and nothing makes me more depressed.
I take a look around and see that inflation has eaten up what little raises we receive. A basket of groceries now requires our firstborn. Gas is only going down because this is an election year. I wonder where to turn.
I turn to the reason for the season. Jesus Christ’s birth is celebrated because he will eventually lead us to eternal salvation. He must grow, teach the goodness of God and the only way to gain heaven, endure unspeakable pain and die for us.
It is not the holiday spirit. I say, Merry Christmas! It is not some neutral holiday. My spirit is the Holy Spirit and we say Jesus Christ is King! There is plenty to cheer about this time of year when Christ the King is born. We will have more to cheer about when he is killed on the cross, buried but risen from the dead, and seated at the right hand of God.
Yes, our world, our country, is in a tailspin. That is not God’s fault - that is man’s fault. Prices go up and up, but that is because we are tied to a material world with secular passions. God doesn’t control the economy. It seems like Satan and his people- minions have a little hand in that.
The reason so many people are looking down this year is because they are not looking up! God did not promise a life without problems and heartbreaks. Our forefather and mother blew that away when the garden wasn’t enough for them. We are just passing through here on Earth before we spend our eternal life in Heaven.
I must confess that I have been to Christmas parades in several towns in the area. I strongly sense that there is a renewed spirit in the reason for the season. I feel in my being that we here in these small towns are humbled by God’s presence. I feel the excitement in the crowds, the enthusiasm in the parade participants and the awesomeness of God’s grace. It feels different this year. That is a good difference. Merry Christmas!
Luke 2:11- “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”
