In a Dennis the Menace cartoon several years ago, Dennis is sitting in a pile of wrapping paper on Christmas morning, and he asks, “How can something that takes so long to get here be over so fast?”
Seems like we were just seeing the Christmas stuff displayed in the stores, doesn’t it? And now we’re in the in-between. Christmas is over and we’re about to launch 2016.
Two Sundays ago, I asked our congregation How do we come to Christmas? I encouraged our worshippers to come like Mary, Joseph and the shepherds.
Mary came with surrender. As the angel shared God’s plan that she would be the mother of the Christ child, Mary said, “ . . . Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Mary was willing to let God use her as she submitted to His will.
Joseph came with obedience. After learning of Mary’s pregnancy and knowing he wasn’t the father, he decided not to disgrace her and to separate from her quietly. An angel of the Lord appeared to him and convinced him that this was God at work and he was to “take to him his wife” (Matthew 1:18-25). And Joseph obeyed, and so should we.
The Shepherds came with immediacy. Once they overcame their fright at the angel’s appearing in the middle of the night, they came with haste, Luke records, to see the baby lying in the manger. They were the first to see Jesus.
Now, how do we go from Christmas? Continuing to look at the Christmas personalities, let’s go like Mary, who kept all these things and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2:19).
Ray Summers wrote, “She stored the shepherds’ words in her heart for thoughtful consideration in the days ahead.” She treasured these events and stored them up in the memory box of her heart.
What did she ponder? A power that overcomes all obstacles, the reality that God was doing an amazing work, and a God that was worthy of highest praise. Mary’s spontaneous response to God’s wonderful work is known as the “Magnificat” (Luke 1:46-55).
Let’s go like the shepherds, who had already come with haste to Bethlehem to see baby Jesus. Now, they “made widely known the sayings which was told them concerning this Christ” (Luke 2:17) and “returned, glorifying and praising God . . .” (Luke 2:20). When was the last time you told someone about Jesus? About what Christmas really means?
Let’s also go like the Wise Men. Their story is found in Matthew 2. They followed a star to the home of infant Jesus, presented special gifts as they worshipped Him, and then were warned not to return to King Herod to give a report as requested.
Instead, Matthew records, “ … they departed for their own country another way” (Matthew 2:12). That’s the impact Christmas should have on our lives. Because we’ve celebrated the birthday of Jesus, worshipped Him this season and made Him the center of our focus, our lives should be different.
Susan Noland, in the December 1997 issue of Decision magazine, told of setting out her nativity scene, carefully placing the figures in their proper place.
Her three-year-old daughter Caroline took it upon herself to rearrange the nativity. She placed baby Jesus in the center and put everyone else in a circle surrounding Him.
When Susan asked Caroline why she had rearranged the figures, Caroline answered, “so they can all see the baby good.”
Maybe that’s what we need to do as we come out of Christmas and head into a new year: rearrange our lives to make sure Jesus shows.
Do we need to rearrange priorities to make sure Jesus shows?
Do we need to rearrange our schedule to make sure we’re where God wants us on Sundays? To give Him the first part of our day in quiet Bible reading and prayer?
Do we need to rearrange our finances to make sure we are supporting God’s work through His church?
Do we need to rearrange our loyalties to make sure Jesus comes first in our hearts? And in our homes?
Dr. David L. Chancey is pastor, McDonough Road Baptist Church, Fayetteville, Ga. The church family gathers at 352 McDonough Road, just past the drivers’ services building, and invites you to join them for Bible study at 9:45 and worship at 10:55 a.m. Visit them on the web at www.mcdonoughroad.org and like them on Facebook.
