Christmas! The season is here and brings with it memories, stories and anticipation of family gatherings, worship and gifts.
Christmas was a special time for me as a boy. Mom and Dad did their best to make Christmas special for my brother, Art, and me. I remember when we were “wise” to who really delivered the gifts to our house. A man knocked on our door, in his arms was a small black and white tv. My Dad pointed to the next-door neighbor where it stayed until Christmas morning.
That story came back around when our youngest, Truett, was a little guy. The family had decided to get me a television. Truett knew we tried to keep things secret until the time for gifts. He could hardly stand knowing something and not being able to tell me. He knew he couldn’t tell me I was getting a television, so he said, “It starts with a “t” and ends with a “v.”
I enjoy watching Christmas programs. The old carols and Christmas classics are literally music to my ears and soul. Yet, at this moment I think of Christ’s birth and those who witnessed it in real time. I think of Mary, the mother of our Savior, Joseph a good and righteous man, the angels, shepherds, and animals who were around the lowly birth of Jesus. I think of those who grew up with Jesus, knew Him personally and wondered. I think of all those who have lived since the incarnation and how this living Lord still walks among us and lives through us. Christmas brings all this and more to my mind.
We need Christmas to come around. We need the reminder that Jesus came as our Savior. No era, power, culture, or country is a match for the story and Savior of Christmas. We were not there when He came long ago. We were not among the angels who sang, shepherds who saw Him or wise men that sought Him. We, however, know Him too!
One day He will come in the clouds and every eye will see Him! (Revelation1:7)