Well, Dec 25th has come and gone again (and Dec 31st 2008 is already counting down..4,3,2,1 day away) . As a Christian, i bemoan the crass commercialisation of this most holy and blessed event, reducing it to nothing but ubiquitous displays of Christmas trees and blaring of sacred hymns in every shopping mall, with strutting Santa Clauses and SantaRinas...i only ventured into but 2 shopping malls this year, and that was just for presents and groceries and i almost didn't even want to put up the Christmas tree in the house; not that i have anything agst such a beautiful tree, but its just that its got absolutely nothing to do with the birth of the Savior of the world !! Buuutt... well, the kids raised a fuss and as my smartie eldest princess said, if i wanna do away with paganistic rituals, i might as well dont even celebrate Dec 25th as Christmas, since it wasn't even Jesus' real birthday, but just a handy date picked by the Roman Emperor Constantine for purely political reasons! Well, she's right, and the house does look kind-of incomplete w/out the tree; so out it comes for yet another year....and i guess it does look kind of pretty, esp with the lights twinkling and all, even tho truth to say, our tree is not the 'normal' orderly decorated in 1 theme kind that's common to most. I like mine 'hotch-potch' which means everything jumbled up everywhere, so every year it's a different look, altho the ornaments remain pretty much the same...
To me, just like that tree, Christmas is always the same, and yet always different - fresh and new as each day that is given of the Lord. Just like God is always and forever God , but each day should bring a new living reality of God in our lives. So i go to church/work every day, i do lots of things the same everyday, but i wanna look for that newness of life that makes mundane things meaningful. Truth is as i discovered, its not anything i or anyone can do that gives purpose to this life on earth. Its not making more money, its not fighting for a noble cause,(tho that is worthy of itself), its not doing good and avoiding evil, its not dreaming big visions (tho that can be a motivation), meaning and purpose in life has already been given to all, as expressed " The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever "...but in the finiteness of our flesh, we only want to 'live well'= a happy trouble free existence on earth. How sad it is when God has prepared so much for us and we are content with so little. As one writer puts it, we humans are so easily placated; we are like little kids content to make and play with little mud-pies in the sand, when the Creator of the universe tells us to look up and see the glories reserved for those who would take their eyes off the mud !!
I want to enjoy God forever becoz that goes beyond enjoying life on this earth. And each Christmas i m reminded once again how God has made that enjoyment possible - now on earth, this very moment - by coming to earth 2008 years ago, in the form of flesh... that we might behold Him, full of grace and glory..
Christmas reminds me how blessed we are that God has done all that needs to be done for us to enjoy Him forever... if only we would come to Him, who came to us and loved us first. My heart was bursting as i sat in church Christmas morning with the kids beside and behind me, singing those old sweet hymns which praise so aptly of the Savior born unto the world, that whomsoever believes in Him shall never perish but have eternal life. All other earthly pursuits pale into nothingness in comparison to this one purpose of the Divine - that He came to seek us, His creation, who were lost and to reconcile us back to Him, thru that little baby born in a manger in Bethlehem at Christmas...
So, tho we end up doing the same things this year like last year...my no. 1 princess turned chef for the day and we 'servants' sweated it out in the kitchen to produce a labor of love for the dinner table.. a quiet time with family gathered around, and of coz the mandatory opening of presents,yet for me, this is the ever new wonder of Christmas ...
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders; And He will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.. Isaiah 9:6
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