Christmas is here and I've invested good time in preparing for the holiday celebration with cooking, cleaning, setting tables and wrapping gifts . I'm enjoying the blessings God has given, but my mind has been fixed on something better than the temporal things. My mind is set on The Gift, Jesus Christ.
Today as I wrapped things I made and purchased, my heart was filled with joy because of the gift that God gave to all of us even before He founded the world. Sure, we know that it was approximately two-thousand years ago that Christ actually came to that stable, but it was long before that that He'd determined to come, and it was just a matter of His timing before He actually arrived. What an amazingly expensive gift He gave! Truly it was the most costly and elaborate gift ever given. The Lord of All gave up His heavenly abode and condescended to earth making Himself a lowly babe of plain birth. And this was determined to be before the foundations of the world! He knowingly made you and I and all that is, with the complete understanding that His love for us would demand this very costly sacrifice. Isn't that astounding? I'm am just in awe!
I've seen how easily the hearts of mankind are drawn to inferior things. As humans created with a greater purpose, people long for the deepest Love, yet they often settle for the cheapest of thrills. From things like a short substance high, a cheap sexual thrill, an illusive moment of revenge, romance, victory or conquest, maybe it's as simple as that good feeling of personal accomplishment. No matter what it is, it will never satisfy. This is because you and I were created for an entirely different purpose than personal glorification. We were created to glorify God alone. And our hearts long for what can only be found in the worship of Jesus Christ.
When we get our eyes fixed on temporal things, we are bound over to failed expectations and disappointment. Often confusion and depression can set in when the things we reach for so passionately are ripped from our grasp.
Hebrews 3:1
"Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest."
The things of the world, including the "wisdom" it has to offer are worthless things. We are encouraged then, to fix our eyes on Jesus, who is the greatest gift ever given.
As you celebrate Christmas this year let the worldly things diminish in your affections. Enjoy the gifts God has given you, but do not let those gifts or their giving usurp the rightful place of exaltation that Jesus deserves in your heart. If you fix your eyes on Jesus, the blessings God gives will have their proper place, and the passions that try to war against you will be powerless to overcome you.
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