Holiday Stress or the Savior? Your choice!!!
Typical of last
minute Christmas shoppers, a mother was running furiously from store to store
purchasing last minute gifts with her son before the stores closed. Suddenly
she became aware that the pudgy little hand of her 3-year-old son was no longer
clutched to hers. In a panic, she retraced her steps and found the little guy
standing with his nose pressed flatly against a store front window. He was
looking at a manger scene. Hearing his mother’s frantic calls, he turned and
with great enthusiasm shouted to his mother, “Look mommy! Come quick! It's
Jesus…baby Jesus is laying there in they hay!” With obvious
indifference to her little boy’s wonder and joy over Jesus, she impatiently
jerked him away from the window and started dragging him down the hall of the
mall saying, “What were you thinking! We don’t have time for that! Don’t you know it
is Christmas and there are lots of more important things to do today!”
I am afraid that
this story relates to many people at Christmas. Do you realize that it is easy
to get so caught up in shopping for gifts, preparing for food or travel, going
to parties, feeling the pressure to make a memory, putting up decorations and
lights, and rushing around that you can completely miss Jesus at Christmas? We
can become so stressed out with Christmas that we miss the Savior. The
Christmas season is all about preparing for the coming to Jesus into this world
to save us from our sins! How can you choose the Savior over holiday stress
this year?
In Luke 10:38-42,
we read the story of Martha preparing for the arrival of Jesus. When you read the story you will see that
Martha was busy getting everything ready for Jesus’ arrival. Her actions speak
volumes to our rushing around preparing for Christmas. I can just imagine what
she was thinking and doing when Jesus arrived. She was thinking, “Doesn’t anyone care how busy I am? How
can Mary just sit at Jesus’ feet like that when there is so much to do. She is
wasting precious time when she could be helping me make preparations for
Jesus!” Martha was so busy making preparations for the arrival of Jesus
that she forgot to enjoy being in His presence. Are we not the same way
ourselves?
What can we do
about the stresses of Christmas so we can enjoy the Savior this year? Let me
mention two practical suggestions for you. First, you should choose the “needed thing” this Christmas! Jesus told
Martha in Luke 10:42, “Only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen
what is better…”. Mary
understood that spending time with Jesus was much more important that the
preparations for His arrival. Martha’s preparations were good, but they were
not what was best. She had substituted spending time in the presence of Jesus
to prepare for Jesus’ arrival. Many of the things we do at Christmas are good,
but only one thing is needed…We must spend time with Jesus! Second, cross
out the unnecessary this Christmas! Make a list of all you think you must
do or need to do to make Christmas special in your life and in your home this
year. Once you have the list completed, cross out EVERYTHING that takes away
from the real meaning of Christmas! For example, do you really have to spend
all afternoon making those “special” cookies when you could spend time with
your family? Do you have to go to every party, spend that much money on
meaningless gifts, or put up all the lights?
On the night
Jesus was born, angels from heaven announced, “Glory to God in the highest, and
on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests (Lk. 2:14).” Don’t let the celebration of the
most peace filled event in history (Christ’s birth) turn into the most
stressful time of the year for you! Remember the words of the Christmas carol:
Silent night, Holy Night; All is calm, All is
bright!
Round yon virgin, mother and child;
Holy Infant so tender and mild.
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace.
