One of my favorite things about Christmas is the fact that it is all about giving. I love to give people presents and see the smiles on their faces. I love it when people have giving hearts and are thankful and grateful for what they've been given. It's just such a cheery time of year for me... until I take the focus off Jesus and make it about me.
This past weekend at church our sermon was about "Being Christmas." Something was exposed in me this past weekend that I did not like seeing. "Being Christmas" has not been the first thing on my mind this year. I have not had the giving spirit like I should be having. Sure, I've been buying gifts for the people I love, but there's been something in me that's been holding back sharing what Jesus has blessed Corey and I with, an entitlement that I saw in myself that I hated. I have been thinking more about myself and the people closest to me than all of the others in the world that probably deserve to have a whole lot more than I do.
Our pastor, Pete, said that there is about a 35,000 pound shortage of food in the food banks around our area this Christmas season. A lot of people in our community are not concerned with if they are getting a family member a perfect gift; they are concerned with how they are going to feed their family.
Maybe this year we need to be focusing less on what size of tree that we have or how many presents our family or children get. Maybe this year is the year to spend less on decorations and give more to people in need. There are food banks all over the US begging for more food. There are mothers and fathers in other countries begging for someone to help them feed their families. Maybe this year we can not just "have Christmas" but maybe we can actually "be Christmas." Everyone knows that when you give with a cheerful heart, it just feels good. Maybe because that's the way it was always meant to be.
John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only son..."
Maybe we've been missing the whole picture of the famous "John 3:16". Maybe it's not just about Jesus coming to this earth so we would not die. Maybe, just maybe, God is trying to show us how much he loves us, and he does that by giving to us. By giving his son, by giving his resources, by giving his people, and by giving his heart to us, he shows us his breathtaking love for us.
To find out more about helping families in need across the world, you can go to:
World Vision
Heifer International
Compassion International
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