Before we know it, Christmas will be here! I like Christmas for a lot of reasons and I would like to share two of them with you.
First, it gives us an opportunity to remember in a special way and at a special time that Jesus willingly left the splendor and majesty of heaven to come down to this earth as a helpless baby, putting the fate of the King of the Universe in the hands of mere humans. The God who controlled all the heavens and universe made Himself vulnerable and fragile. He controlled nothing. His own destiny was in the hands of fallen humanity. Not many other times during the year do we dwell on these thoughts in depth.
Secondly, I like Christmas because it brings out the best in many people. There are those who like Ebenezer Scrooge sec it as only opportunistic and commercial. But others find it a time to exercise a bit more patience, stop to say a kind word, give a little more generously to the poor, and in general act better toward their fellow human beings. Maybe it is all perspective.
It would be my wish this particular Christmas season for you as spouses of ministers to experience these two particular joys of the season. On the first, give study and devotional time to the sacrifice Jesus made when He came to this miserable place—a world He so perfectly created and we so quickly ruined. Think of something you treasured, perhaps something you hand-made that was willfully destroyed. Think how you felt and multiply that by millions, and that must have been the hurt that Jesus experienced when we ruined what He created. Also, contemplate the issue of control. It seems to me that too many people want to control other people and other circumstances. As ministers' families we have a great influence over those to whom we are responsible. Let's make sure it is a ministry, not a control. God is the one in control, not us.
Secondly, lets sec if we can end up better women for experiencing this Christmas season, Maybe the habits of kindness and patience can follow us all the days of our lives because we made it a habit during this time period.
The season could become a rat-race of programming and entertaining. Instead, let's vow that it will be a time of contemplation of Jesus and how we can better reflect His love to our friends, neighbors and families.
Merry Christmas,
Sharon
