Most people agree with Dr. Seuss: Christmas doesn’t come from a store. It does, in fact, mean quite a bit more.
Unfortunately, most of my family’s Christmas seems to come from a store. We spend a lot of money shopping for gifts, food, and clothing at Christmas. That doesn’t seem right somehow.
So I’ve tried quite a number of things over the years to make our Christmas more meaningful:
Advent family devotions
Limiting gifts to gold, silver, and myrrh gifts
Giving more to charities like Samaritan’s Purse or World Vision
But still I’ve felt like Christmas could mean a little bit more. This year we are using a new Advent calendar including Scripture and related family activities. I was certain it would result in a more meaningful Christmas until I pulled out the Advent calendar I made last year. I had completely forgotten about it, just as I’ve forgotten so many of the things I’ve done in an effort to make Christmas mean a little bit more.
I’ve realized that creating a meaningful Christmas has always resulted in more for me: more time, more work, even more money. It isn’t that I disagree with Dr. Seuss. It’s that I realize I’ve edited his quote to read: “…maybe you should make Christmas mean a little bit more.”
Indeed, Christmas does not come from a store. But neither does it come from a Christmas program, a Christian bookstore, or a Christian blogger like me. Christmas is meaningful because of what God did over 2000 years ago. I’ll let the angel explain it:
I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord (Luke 2:10-11).
Maybe you were hoping to find 10 tips for making this Christmas more meaningful. I’m sorry to disappoint. It’s just that there is nothing you or I can do to make the Savior’s birth more meaningful. We don’t have to do anything more. That is good news and a cause for great joy.
Merry Christmas!
Terrific perspective, Melanie. We work and try so hard to make the holidays feel good, for them to be perfect, and the root meaning behind it all already is perfect and good. As we focus on Christ – His whole life, not just the birth – Christmas takes on the meaning in our lives that we so deeply desire for it to have. Good news & great joy are truly found in the simple message of our savior from His birth to death to resurrection.
Thanks, Kari. I need to be reminded of this truth every year it seems. 🙂 And I agree that it isn’t just about His birth, but His life, His death, His resurrection, and the life He lives in us. Merry Christmas, friend.