The season is upon us! Everywhere we turn we are invited to partake of food and drink, shopping, partying, and cheer. Unfortunately for many of us we don’t need the food or drink, we can’t afford to shop, all partying does is accentuate what we have lost or don’t have, and cheer? Well cheery is definitely not how we are feeling.
How do we celebrate the wonderful meaning of Christmas without being caught up in all the expectations and demands that also accompany the season. I think we must strive to keep it simple. Difficult to do? Certainly! But it is necessary. The message of the season is Christ—a celebration of the One who came to set us free.
The words of that old carol, “O Come, All Ye Faithful” help us to understand the value of keeping Christmas simple.
“O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant! O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem! Come and behold him, born the King of angels.
“Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning; Jesus, to thee be all glory giv’n! Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.
“O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord!”
We are to simply come. We are to see the One who is the Reason for the Season. And we are to adore Him.
We keep our eyes, our thoughts, our desires, our hearts set on “God with Us,” Emmanuel, and Christmas really is very simple.
Come.