I’m sitting here just one day removed from Christmas. And I’m thinking its easy to see how someone could lose the true meaning of the Christmas holiday with all of the commercialism surrounding it. More then ever this year I noticed the many capitalistic tendrils that have crept into this holiday. From when it first became an official Federal holiday to when Thanksgiving was moved to accommodate a longer shopping period. All of that can be tied to commercialism and increasing the profits of retailers and others throughout the country.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s good that the economy is strong and everyone who contributes to it should be thanked. Yet, at the heart of it Christmas seems to have been co-opted. That means that once all the presents are unwrapped and all of your family and friends head back to their homes, is there anything left?
That’s what got me thinking as I write this post. It goes without saying that this past year hasn’t been an easy one. There were many good things that happened, for sure, but it also seemed like there was this cloud over all of us. We seemed more divided. We seemed to put ourselves first rather than caring about others. It was tragedy that brought us together at the end of the year. Sadness was everywhere.
Then there was light.
It’s what happens when we take the time to focus not on ourselves, but on Jesus. We see that there is more than just the sadness and despair. There is joy. It is real and it is true.
The light creates the joy. It doesn’t just happen, though. It is a choice that we make. We choose to turn away from Jesus. We choose to give in to temptations. We choose to take on debt that must be repaid. We choose to allow stress and sadness in. Then the despair wipes us of the one thing that will carry us in the darkness toward the light: hope.
It is hope that I wish for everyone in the new year. The hope that comes from giving everything over to God. All of your worries. All of your defeats and triumphs. Praise Him. Pray. And know that hope is what will carry us through.
Hope is a powerful tool. It will help us to overcome sadness and despair. It will help us turn away temptation and it will give us the ability to repay our debts. Hope is also the vehicle that our Faith rides in.
So in the coming new year, I wish for all of you to seek out and experience the hope that comes from faith in God and the teaching of Jesus. It is a true and undeniable comfort.
Communicating With 