Christmas without Shopping!
Posted 12/21/2010
Christmas without the Shopping
Jesus is the greatest gift of all
Christmas for many Americans begins somewhere right around Thanksgiving, although for some, it starts long before that. We get so excited about playing our Christmas music and getting our lights strung. We attend parties, eat goodies, spend our Saturdays shopping and wrap our many Christmas presents to arrange under our glowing and carefully decorated trees. And in the spot of honor, most of us have our nativity scenes proudly displayed to show that we truly understand what Christmas is really about.
Our western world has polluted the true meaning of Christmas with mass amounts of consumerism, even for those who try to practice giving above receiving. We make a point to give a little extra to those in need, while taxing our credit cards with massive amounts of things for our own families, all in the name of being generous. We pity the poor people who do not have presents under their tree, or a tree at all. Where is Jesus in the midst of our revelry?
"Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.'" Matthew 1:23.
God is right here with us the whole time. He loves us with an everlasting love, and because of that love, he sent his only son to be born onto this earth for us. That, my friends, is the real reason for the season and something truly worth celebrating.
One of our missionaries in Malawi recently stated "I love living in a world where Black Friday doesn't exist!" While some of us might initially gasp in horror, consider for a moment the glory of a culture that is not inundated with the need for more and more things. A culture like that actually has time to allow Jesus the spot of honor.
One of our sponsors reflected while writing a letter to her child for Christmas: "It's such an eye opener as I think of what to write and what Christmas means to her. At first I felt sad but then I thought...wow...she will be understanding the real meaning of Christmas and that's the greatest gift of all."
Lord, let us never forget that the birth of Jesus is the true meaning of Christmas, and the greatest gift of all.
Merry Christmas!
From the Pure Mission Team
