“so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
//Colossians 1:10-14//
___________________________________
"That you may"
This verse says it all- we have been rescued out of the depths of darkness, saved & transformed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, [so that we may] live in a way that reflects Jesus' love and points souls toward salvation.
Another year, another Christmas, and the choice is ours again- Will we remember the real meaning of Christmas? Every year around this time life seems to get a little bit more stressful whether it's from scrambling to get Christmas shopping done, planning trips to see family, or studying for final exams 12 days before Christmas... (That's me). It seems like the older we get, the more life gets in the way of enjoying family and friends and celebrating our Savior's birth. Satan tries to keep us distracted long enough to over look the things that really matter, and unfortunately, a lot of the time, we let him win.
Personally, I find myself wishing Christmas could be like it was when I was younger, mostly because life was much simpler then. Now, the Christmas season seems to come and go before I even get a chance to enjoy it. The stress of trying pass finals, buying gifts, and trying to find time to relax and enjoy spending time with friends and family becomes almost overwhelming. But then, factor in the distractions and anxiety that Satan throws at us, and Christmas is pushed to the back of our minds making this season just another one of going through the motions.
However, I don't want to spend this Christmas mindlessly enduring the stress and forgetting to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. I want to celebrate the the birth of Jesus, the one who saved me from darkness and gives me life, forgives me over and over again when I sin against him, and the one who continuously picks me up and cleans me up when I fall. Without Him, I would be nothing, have nothing, and this world would be without hope. Christmas should be a time to express gratitude to our Savior for all he blesses us with, to spend time with friends and family, and to share love with others. I realized today that Christmas Day is less than two weeks away, and I up until today I fallen into the same habit of going through the motions. But also today, I took some time to reflect on this past year, and my perspective has been realigned to where it should be. I almost feel like I need to make a list of all the journeys God has taken me on, all the blessings he has given me, and all of the incredible things he has done. Even as I am typing this post, I can feel gratitude and excitement flooding my heart. This time last year I was missing a very close friend and feeling broken for them, a family member was in a very dark place which hurt our entire family's hearts, and I was still praying relentlessly as I worried about someone very close to my heart that was so lost. Friends, let me tell you about how amazing my Jesus is! This year, not only do I get to spend Christmas with both of those friends and that family member, but I am also able to celebrate how Jesus has worked in each of their hearts, healed so much brokenness, and is continuing to do incredible things in each situation! I have so much joy in my heart and I pray that it will overflow into my actions and words over the rest of this Christmas season. My goal this Christmas is that I show my gratitude for Jesus' love and to express my love to my friends and family. I hope you will join me in making this Christmas different, and showing Christ's love to everyone around you!
No comments:
Post a Comment