Countdown to Christmas - December 19, 2022

If you haven't made out your Christmas list by now, that horse just might be out of the barn. I remember years ago, our children submitting addendums to their lists on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve! Apparently, they'd seen items long after their lists and their previous addendums had been filed, and they were hoping that in the few remaining hours before Christmas morning, there was still some chance of their wishes being fulfilled. And, although as adults we may have a better concept of time, isn't that how it works with us as well: we see something that looks appealing and wonder how we can get our hands on just the same thing. Our economy would collapse if we didn't all long for something we needed or thought we needed.

So, here we are, it's Christmas, the season we celebrate Jesus, the Word, God, becoming flesh. We need a Savior, and by God's grace, His only Son, Jesus is the suitable propitiation. He came to earth, fully God and fully man, dying on the cross in our place that we might live for all eternity in His presence. But, getting back to the whole idea of seeing and longing for, there are more layers to this onion. Jesus is our example. 

1 Peter 1:21-24 says:

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:

“Who committed no sin, 

Nor was deceit found in His mouth”;

 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.

Ephesians 5:1-2 instruct us:

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

We are to act as He acted, love as He loved, and live our lives after the example He set for us as He walked this earth. Do we want that life, however? Are we seeking that life? On the Big Christmas Wishlist of Life is it there, front and center, first and foremost? 

1. A life just like Jesus Christ's

Jesus was not shy about telling folks the type of life He led: one that could leave a person with no roots, no family, no friends in this world. The things that tie us to our jobs, things like mortgages and car payments, are part of human existence but not necessarily part of the life lived in imitation of Christ. Do you long for that? Those societal dictums we in Western civilization follow so religiously: get a good job, family first, take care not to offend people. Are you yearning to leave all that behind? When Jesus pitched His tent with us right here on terra firma He was providing an example for us to follow and a life we can desire to live! As believers we should all be aspiring not just to live the kind of life Jesus lived while here on earth, but to dream of it! Each verse of the gospels should jump out at us as we read, causing us to pine for a life of selflessness and holiness. If others are supposed to look at our lives and want to know the One who has transformed our very being, how much more should we look at our Lord and Savior's lifestyle and long for a path like that?! What was it that caused those early disciples like Simon Peter and Matthew to immediately abandon their old lives to follow Jesus, and is it on your list?

Well, my Christmas list has been made, and this year it is extremely short. But after the Holy Spirit spoke this to me today, I think I'll be submitting an addendum. 

Merry Christmas!