The Core of Christmas

Peripheral vision is important in driving. We need to be aware to what is going on around us. Tunnel vision can cause accidents. In celebrating Christmas, we need to know what is going on around us, but too often, the peripheral items steal our focus away from the true meaning of Christmas. We lose sight of the reason we celebrate as the celebrations themselves along with all the trappings get the attention. There is nothing wrong with fun times, good food, and gifts. The problem is that they have become the focus of the season and the reason we share these things becomes peripheral. Jesus Christ is the reason we celebrate Christmas, but many times he becomes only an excuse to party.

Angels appeared to the shepherds announcing "glory to God in the highest" (Luke 2:8-11). A special star appeared in the sky, leading wise men to Jesus(Matthew 2:1-2). They came bearing gifts for the King of Kings who was the savior of the World (Matthew 2:10-12). Our Christmas celebrations recall the nativity story with stars on our trees, shepherds and wise men, gifts, and evergreen branches signifying eternal life. The icons are still there telling the story. Star spangled wrapping is ripped off of gifts with no thought to what they represent. Wise men are icons of the season, but few give thought to what the wise men were searching for, or what they found. Angels have a prominent place, but they are silent sentinels instead of messengers bringing news of salvation to all mankind. In so many homes, the core of Christmas, which is Christ, has become peripheral to the celebrations of the season. When the story comes into focus, Christ will be seen at the center, and only then can we celebrate properly, for then our celebrations are inspired with the reason they exist in the first place. We do not celebrate for sake of celebration, but we celebrate for Christ's Sake.

Eyes and Ears

 Sometimes we hear with eagerness, and other times we hear   reluctantly. Our eyes may be open but fail to see. The tendency is to hear what we want to hear, and to see what want or expect to see. Something can be right in front of us and we can't see it.

Our eyes and ears are constantly bombarded with information, and we are forced to be selective in how we process that information. Selective sight and sound reception is nothing new. Communication between husbands and wives, parents and children, falls short due to selective reception. A man may become accustomed to tuning out the voice of his wife. Children hear parents when it suits them, but no longer hear when it becomes inconvenient or undesirable. We tune out noisy kids to focus in on a conversation. We may, at one and the same time, see and mentally reject what we see.

Men have often responded to God with selective hearing. God charges Israel with tuning Him out (Isa. 42:20). Jesus asks the disciples why they have eyes but cannot see, and ears, that do not hear (Mk. 8:17-18). The Apostle Paul charges the Judaizers of his day with having a spirit of stupor (Rom. 11:8). Men have often tuned out God. We do well to learn from their mistakes. The writer of Hebrews warns us that we will suffer dire consequences if we repeat their mistake (Heb. 3:7-11). May we have not hardened hearts, but humble hearts, that we may truly see God's truth, and eagerly hear God's Word to us.