Monday, December 15, 2014

"There went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed..."


Christmas time is one of my most favorite times of the year! I love the baking, the laughing, the gift opening... I just love everything about it. But yesterday I got a reality check about Christmas. 

Yesterday at church we had our Christmas meeting. The talks were about Christmas and only Christmas music was played. One of the speakers stood up to the microphone, said a couple of jokes, then said this, 

"And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed..." 

As soon as he read those words my mind shifted back to every Christmas Eve I can remember. Every Christmas Eve, my father sits on his parents' couch and reads the Christmas story from Luke 2. My heart was filled with a gratefulness in that moment when I heard the speak say those words. 

I love my parents. I love that every year during Christmas time, we take the opportunity to go to my grandparents' home and listen to my father read the Christmas story from the book of Luke. My friends, that is what Christmas is about. I know many of you are rolling your eyes and are saying, "Yeah yeah... we get it. Christmas is about Christ." But do you get it? Because even I'm not sure if I do. 

Do you realize that on Christmas we celebrate the birth of the Man who came to Earth just for us? For you. For me. On Christmas we are celebrating everything that Christ stood for and continues to stand for. On Christmas we are reminding ourselves that we owe Him everything. 

We. Owe. Him. Everything. 

We don't only owe Him Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We owe him every morning, every night. Every pleasure, every sorrow. Everything. 

Christ was born into a world that would ultimately take his mortal life from Him. He knew that would happen, and yet He chose to come here because He knows we are worth it. 

If He knows we are worth it, can't we decide for ourselves that we are worth it too? 

I hope that this lesson I learned yesterday stays with me for the rest of my life. I love Jesus Christ. I am grateful for His birth, His life, His sacrifice, and His continuing companionship with me. 

He loves us. He always will. 

All we have to do is to decide to let Him in; not only during Christmas time, but all the time.