There are some things that people take for granted that I’ve been conditioned over the years to see differently. Indeed the concepts are alien to me.
For example heaven. I am aware that the society around me has a view on heaven particularly as the destination to which they believe they are headed after death. My upbringing and reading of the scripture always found that view to be weird for so many reasons. The chief of which is why do people think they’re going somewhere that was never made for them?
What’s the point of the New heaven and earth coming unless we’re going to be inhabiting the earth? What’s the point in God making all these desires to make His dwelling among people on earth if we’ve scheduled Him to take us up to His crib? What’s the point of praying for the Kingdom come and will done on earth as in heaven, if it won’t matter anyway because we won’t be here? What’s the point in the meek inheriting the earth if they won’t be around on the earth to enjoy their inheritance?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not dismissing the desires of people to go to heaven. I can understand that for some people heaven is like their idea of paradise and they use the term that loosely. It’s not really a critical issue of fellowship for me. As I said, it’s what I got growing up, the culture I lived in and my approach to the issue.
A second issue that is commonplace but rather alien to me is a timely one and that’s about Christmas. It’s really bizarre for me seeing Christians so passionate and defensive about a festival that has little actual basis in truth. Was Jesus born? Yes. Did wise men come to see him? Yes. Is His birth important? Yes.
That’s about it as far as the truth is concerned. Was his birth celebrated by the early church? Is it something He instructed the church to do? Are the trappings that surround it, like the tree, the tinsel, the star on top of the tree, etc. things that are in line with scripture? Was he born in December?
Growing up it always bemused me that these issues were swept under the carpet in order to reinforce the tradition and the sentiments that surrounded it. Again, it’s not a major issue for me. I happen not to celebrate Christmas, I happen to believe the sentiments of it – giving, celebrating the birth of the Messiah, a time for family, etc – should be sentiments that mark out life all year around.
If you want an end of year festival about it, that’s not an issue to me either, but I would not do so by mixing traditions pagan and otherwise and giving it a Christian glean. It kinda goes against a faith that’s meant to be based on truth highlighting a celebration of something without a lot of the truth in it.
Thankfully for my alien mindset on the matter, nowadays Christmas is not really that Christian. Any reference to it in England particularly is purely nominal. That’s especially seen in the level of debt people get into to keep up with the rat-race of getting the gifts that matter (and will duly be neglected).
The commercial and materialistic drive in the season is quite something to see and also for a time of peace on earth it’s interesting how it’s the time where the loneliness and emptiness of people’s lives comes into sharp contrast with the sentiments of the time of year. No wonder people spend the rest of the year covering it up in busyness, broken New Years Resolutions and a bid to pay off enough of the debt to be prepared to go further into debt the next year around.
Having said that, the time of the year is a glorious opportunity to be about the business of genuinely showing the light of the world is Jesus. It’s a great opportunity to do what Jesus did and seek out those who are feeling empty and lonely, hungry and homeless and share with them a love that is not just for the middle of the winter.
That kind of lifestyle of living in a loving and giving way on an earth that was made for man is not alien to me at all.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
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