You may recall that at the beginning of the month I asked the question, who is Jesus and this has a bearing on what follows.
Also on the ‘do you remember’ trip, back in May this year I wrote an entry on this here blog about the truth that God loves.
Reading it again in preparation for this blog really highlighted what’s been going on for the last year or so in terms of my own spiritual journey. Something that’s remarkable considering how long I’ve been blogging, is that this was the first time I had outlined my position on Christmas. That position is one that came from the church in which I grew up, but as with the faith of my parents, it is a position that I interrogated for myself before resolving in my own mind its validity.
Usually around this time of year I get very uncomfortable only in as much as having to negotiate the twists and turns of the culture and especially the Christian culture that wholeheartedly embraces Christmas as if it’s the truth that God loves. (See what I did there?) It was particularly difficult working at the YMCA Christmas after Christmas and having to do ‘something’ without ever being in agreement with the whole season deal. That is one of the few areas that I’m glad my departure has rid me of that conundrum.
I don’t agree with all elements of the presentation in the video. I don’t think the Gospel is something that can be responded to in the manner of watching a video, following a pre-defined script of a prayer and like that ‘you’re saved’. The essence of the video is the point though – there is sufficient about the origins and subsequent development of the festival that should at least start ringing alarm bells for followers of Christ.
Yet just when I think it’s safe to merely carry on as I used to before YMCA, I now have daughters who are going to school and being asked to take part in Nativity plays or Christmas plays. Should I say no? How do I say no? All that palaver. All the fun of the life of a follower of Christ.
Anyway, so as I approach this season again, rather than ignore it as I have done for most of the life of this blog, I thought I’d at least take it and turn it into a positive. Usually when you celebrate a birthday it’s not just about how they were born, you celebrate the life. You celebrate who that person is and what they mean to you. As one who does his best to pursue Jesus, rather than waiting for the end of the year to celebrate His life and who He is, I get the impression that’s what my whole life is devoted to. (Gives a whole new meaning to a daily devotional doesn’t it.)
So while others prepare to celebrate a festival that is at best a cultural activity tenuously linked to Jesus, I plan to use the month of December to post something every day over the month in the morning slot to celebrate who Jesus is. That’s why this is an introduction to the Jesus Is … series. My hope is for it to be good for those who know and for those who don’t know. My hope is that in these brief posts there’ll be a growing desire to engage with who Jesus is so that it won’t be a matter of seeing Him as the reason for the season, but more as the reason for living.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
dmcd
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