Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Fresh Start; New Perspective



   This is the New Year and I missed my deadline for the last post for the year 2012. The whole season was incredibly hectic and the month of December and the Christmas holidays flew by like they almost never happened. But it was interesting to notice all that went on around the Christmas season. In looking through Scripture the words gift or gifts is mentioned over 140 times. The Hebrew root word for gift is, nathan, pronounce “naw-than” it has connotations of a gift that is distilled with no strings attached. What an amazing concept. Gift giving without any strings attached. So how does the holiday season turns into the most competitive, stress filled, scavenger hunt like time of the year. In as much as we like to tell ourselves that we know what the reason for the season is, we constantly are looking for that one perfect gift. We drive to enormous lengths to find just things for one another. Don't get me wrong, some of these things are things that people have been waiting for, rewards or fulfillment of dreams that have been a long time in coming. I am not saying that it is wrong to give gifts. What I am asking is; what is our motivation for it?
  
 So if we're honest with ourselves, we ask ourselves what is the real reason for the season? Do we prepare our hearts in the way that Joseph and Mary prepared themselves? Do we prepare our hearts in the same way that the Angels prepared their hearts? How do we reconcile our obligation to God and our love for family? To be honest, I don't have an answer to that, I too have also fallen prey to the traditions of Christmas. It is hard to balance God, family and friends. How do we maintain this balance? The answer could be simple yet incredibly hard; maybe we should prioritize God first. We must look for ways in which we know we will be putting God first. If gift giving is important to you then find some worthy causes that you can provide needed financial support to. Help at your local men or women's shelter or soup kitchen. If none of those are available to you in your area, look for other organizations that provide much-needed help for other around the world. Many of them have a large Internet presence.
  
 The beauty of the Christmas season resides in the beginning of the gospel, one self-less act from God. God's gift to us was himself, he became one of us. He became human, let that sink in for a little while....... The creator of the universe, who needs nothing, became one of us. In his infinite wisdom and knowledge he determined that heaven was not complete unless we could be with him. The message of the gospel is not only that Jesus came and died and was resurrected from the dead for us. It is also what Jesus commanded his disciples in his last parting words. Matt 28: 18-20 Then Jesus came near and said to them, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

   You see, we get hung up on a lot of theology and doctrine from the epistles, and is good to know this, but the epistles did not exist when Jesus gave the command to go into the world to a twenty something year old guy and his teen friends. Much like a new year has new meaning and purpose, the disciples’ lives had a new meaning and purpose after that day. To go and do, not to join a church and delegate, it’s about all of us together doing our part. 

RH

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