Preparing for the Big Day
By John W. Vander Velden
This month uncounted millions will be hustling and
bustling to get ready for a special day. There’s so much to do, events to plan,
gifts to purchase and wrap, cards to send, and of course decorations to hang
and spread about our homes and places of work. Yet in all the craziness of our
activities very few of us include preparing ourselves, for the real reason we
do all these and other things.
For you see December 25th would be no more
than any other day, if it were not for the one important thing that I prepare
for, that is the birth of Jesus Christ. For I, like many others of faith,
understand the significance of that event, an event that changed the world and
continues to do so. For the birth of that one child, caused a shear point in
history.
No, the world didn’t become a perfect place filled
with perfect people, but with the birth of Jesus, God proved just how much he
loved us. For Christ was born, just as we were. He was born to what might seem
ordinary people, yet Mary and Joseph were anything but ordinary. Jesus was born
in humble circumstances. Those that know the facts can see the profoundness of
the birth of God’s Son.
I am a man of faith, raised in a family of faith, and
none of these things are new to me. Throughout my life Christ’s birth was always
at the center of Christmas. For when I hear someone say, They find Christmas
a special time, I wonder, what it is that makes Christmas special to them.
But for me and my family none of the glitter and glam, nothing hung on our tree
or found beneath it, has as much importance at the birth of my Savior.
I will not pretend that I place enough effort in my
preparations for the big day. For one thing, I don’t read my Bible as much as I
should, yet my mind considers Christ’s birth each day, especially in December.
And when I honestly look at myself and consider the flawed man I am, then I
understand the extreme depth God went to in order to offer me an out, if you
will. For I know that I fall short of what God wants me to be each
day no matter how hard I try, and I do try. Yet I continue to be lacking in my thoughts
and actions. But because of grace, undeserved but given to me anyway, I
am, through Christ, acceptable.
So, I prepare myself for the celebration of one of the
most important events in history, for Easter could not exist, if Jesus had not
been born in Bethlehem. And that is indeed the real reason to celebrate
December 25th. It gives all the other stuff we do this time
of year significance. It is my hope that
as you prepare for the big day, you will do so with Christ’s birth on your mind
as well.
Hallelujah, Christ is born, born for you and me.
(513 Words) 12-9-2023
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