My grand kids have shared their ideas of "dream" gifts for me to
give them at Christmas. My daughters have generous gifts planned for their
husbands. Generally, there seems to be a feeling of joy and anticipation at
this time of year.
Of course, the media "education" we continually receive about things to
purchase that will make others HAPPY (even if only briefly) may be bending our
thoughts in a certain direction. So, perhaps by now our Christmas thoughts have
little to do with the birth of Jesus in a manger, thousands of years ago in
far-off Bethlehem.
Today, with so much persuasion in the air, it is easy to forget the
real reason we have persisted for more than two thousand years to
celebrate the birth of Jesus. What does that birth really mean to us? Did the
birth of Jesus actually give us something more important than the expectation of
receiving some Christmas gifts?
Many people believe the answer lies in understanding a fundamental problem
all of us have.
The Bible explains again and again that in general people's hearts are
drawn toward selfishness and pride. The Bible, in it's wisdom tells us how we
should live, but it also says, "you can't, and you won't." Fortunately, it does
provide a solution to the problem ---- in Jesus.
In order to be a Christian a person must admit that he or she is a
sinner. "Sin" is an attitude in which we focus on ourselves and thus replace
God. The real God and his law become secondary in our lives. Probably we are
not consistently sinful all the time, but we know that from time to time we
place our pride and well-being first, even if others may sacrifice
because of us. Are any of us not sinners some of the time?
Actually, in order to really be a Christian, a person must admit
that he or she is a sinner. It is not really a surprise that Christians sin,
that there is an inconsistency between what they say and what they do.
R.C. Sproul writes, "The Christian Church is one of the few organizations
in the world that requires a public acknowledgement of sin as a condition of
membership. In one sense, the church has fewer hypocrites than any other
institution because by definition the church looks for sinners and is a
haven for them. If the church claimed to be an organization of perfect people,
then her claim would be hypocritical. But no such claim is made by the church.
There is no slander in the charge that the church is full of sinners. Such a
statement actually gives a compliment to the church for fulfilling her divinely
appointed task."
Christianity is often equated with "obeying the rules," thereby making us
think we just need to be a morally superior person. Actually, most religions
operate on a simple principle: "If I live as I ought, I will be accepted by
God."
But, Christianity has a completely different operating principle
----
I am already accepted by God, as a gift through what Jesus has done
for us on the Cross. Therefore, out of gratitude, I will try to live as I
ought. Christians are people who understand that they will always fail
to live as they should. Therefore, that they need forgiveness and God's
freely-given grace.
The prerequisite to becoming a Christian is admitting that one has this
problem, and that we need God's help. So, continual repentance in the sense of
our humility before God should be the mark of a Christian.
The difference between a Pharisee in the New Testament and a follower of
Jesus Christ, is not that the Pharisee and the Christian are not both trying to
obey God, they actually are. However, the Pharisee is doing it only
self-righteously, so as to feel superior to other people ---- there is no
humility there. So, when the Pharisee does wrong, he will not admit to the
wrong.
Jesus criticized people who do "religious" things just to feel superior to
others. Jesus understood that the chief danger from the kind of religious
moralism in which a person or a community feels they have earned God's
favor, is that it could lead them to feeling that they deserve special deference
and respect from all other folks ---- it produces an unfortunate and unwarranted
ego trip.
Jesus himself sacrificed his life so that his followers could be reconciled
to God, making their pride and self-interest secondary. Christians follow
someone (Jesus) who sacrificed everything (all of his pride and self-interest)
to redeem and renew the world. At the heart of the Christian faith is a man who
died a victim of injustice, but who called for the forgiveness of his enemies.
Jesus is the example we sinners are trying to follow.
So, understanding the importance of the message of Jesus, we come annually
to the celebration of Christmas. We can see that the real gifts of Christmas
are not the material things ---- the Christmas gifts, the Christmas parties and
the Christmas cards, even thought they delight us at first. The real gift is
more fundamental in our lives ---- it is the gift of the birth of Jesus, who
showed us a path out of our sinfulness.
Merry Christmas!
_______________________________________________________________________________
These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult Spiritual Development
Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal spiritual growth this
winter at CPC.
________________________________________________________________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment