We cannot get lost in the rules, the have-to's, the requirements of life (and holidays!) only to miss the purpose and point (and pleasure) of why God has put us here during this life (and these holidays).
The other day our son made the comment that "it just doesn't feel like Christmas yet". And believe me: it is almost Christmas. I am well aware of the food that still needs to be prepared, the gifts that still need wrapped, and the pressure of making Christmas, well, Christmas.
And then I realized that perhaps I am why it's "not feeling like Christmas" yet: because Mom isn't feeling/behaving in the true spirit of Christmas yet. I am planning/prepping/rushing/listing to get ready for the day of Christ's birth, but because of all of that, I am missing the point of the day of Christ's birth. Ouch.
And it doesn't have to be days before a holiday for us to get lost in the doing of our days instead of being present in our days.
Forgive me, Lord, for missing the miracle of today. Thank you for using Your child and mine to wake me from my labor-intensive focus and to jolt me back to what really matters-YOU!
I love how the Lord uses His word to teach us lessons. Specific, personalized, can't-miss-that they-were-intended-for-you lessons. (I get it, Lord!) As I sat down in the early-morning-quiet and opened my Bible, I realized that God was calling me out about my missed-priorities. Jesus is here to do great things with us and through us, but we are missing them if we are caught up in the rules and prep of today and tomorrow.
Jesus went into the synagogue again and noticed a man with a deformed hand. 2 Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus’ enemies watched him closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.
3 Jesus said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” 4 Then he turned to his critics and asked, “Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” But they wouldn’t answer him.
5 He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! ~Mark 3:1-5
I hope that you do not feel the correlation between this parable and yourself as strongly as I did, but these verses were a wake-up call for me. Jesus wanted to heal a man, and it happened to be the Sabbath. The "rules and prep" of Jewish (and Christian) culture say not to do any work on the Sabbath, and so Jesus’ enemies watched him closely.
His enemies and critics were so caught up in the to-do list of being religious and making sure that "everything looked perfect from the outside", that they missed Jesus and his miracles standing right in front of them. Plus, they not only pooh-poohed Him asking their permission (which He did not need) to heal the man: even worse, their hearts were so hardened that they would not even answer Jesus.
And even worse yet, their stubborness and hardened hearts angered and deeply saddened Jesus.
Lord, please forgive us when we become so wrapped up in our to-do-list-of-life and in "appearing to have it all together" that we miss You standing in our midst. And for those hectic and harried moments when I cannot see the blessing in front of my face, and instead choose to only see the mess, delay, or tangent: forgive me, Lord. In these ways I am hardening my heart toward You and the people/opportunities/miracles that you are placing before me.
Forgive our hardened hearts, Father, and melt them for Your intentions. Open our eyes and hearts to the good that You are attempting to perform in our lives and the lives of others. Let us exit the distractions of daily life and enter into what You are doing right in front of us.
Even if you are not knee-deep in tasks today, I hope that these verses can bring you to your knees as they did me.
I do not want to spend another moment missing the point of what God has in-store for me and for those around me today. And I certainly do not want to be so busy "doing" that my mixed-up-priorities sadden Jesus.
Jesus was born for us and then died for us so that we might live a life to glorify Him. And He made it clear that we are not supposed to suffer/rush/work-ourselves-to-the-bone through every moment of our lives. Using the Sabbath as an example, God built in a day for us to enjoy rest and rejuvenation (and worship Him!). In a larger sense, He did not come so that we would be constantly caught up in the to-do list of life and making sure that "everything looks perfect from the outside".
Quite the opposite: He came so that they could have life—indeed, so that they could live life to the fullest (John 10:10). Such a wonderful gift.
Now that puts me in the true Christmas Spirit!
Blessings,
sarah
https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com/
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