Christmas Card Lessons

Hey!

You know I am not into mailing traditional Christmas cards, and more into email, blogs, and FaceBook. But I will share with you three ideas that belong in a Christmas card.

Jesus temporarily vacated heaven for me. I can think of two reasons why He left, but I can't figure out which was more important to Him. Was it more important to Him to be guided by His Dad's love for me? Or was it that He saw me as priceless? Either way, I win.

And I am thankful He sees you as priceless, too.

My second idea is how Jesus' life began in poverty and misery. Have you considered His unwed mother making the long trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem on a donkey, and not in a Lexus or a VW bug? There were no vacancies at the Ramada, La Quinta, or Motel 6. They made the drafty, cow-chip-filled barn behind the inn their home. When Jesus arrived, He was not wrapped in a new flannel blanket, but long pieces of cloth from ????? He was not laid in a fine, germ-free, frill-lined bassinet. Joseph and Mary placed Him in a feed trough with hay as a cushion. (Imagine how hard it was for Joseph to keep his donkey from eating Jesus' bed-stuffing.)

I understand starting out poor and unfortunate. Being born in '55 at a Catholic hospital, and immediately being put up for adoption may have meant I was the offspring of a teenage girl who had made a huge “mistake”. Now, I identify with Jesus. He still sympathizes with me today.

My third Christmas-card idea considers the gifts to His kingship, divinity, and His suffering. Regardless of how many wise men came, they gave three very expensive gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gold was a vestige of Him being King. Frankincense is a costly fragrance used in worship of divinity. And myrrh was an antiseptic used in preservation of the deceased. Was this symbolic of His life?

Everything I ever received from my parents, the Lionel train, a white paper mustache, two parents who delighted over everything I did (well, at least in the early days), a Tonka truck, and the portable record player (that I wore out). There was the pine branch stuck in a bucket and covered with whipped Ivory Snow for “snow” that served as a Christmas Tree (Mom always had a very sensitive nose). But in that little house on Frazier Street, I lived like a young King.

He deserved it. He IS a king. I did not. I am not.

Aren't these three good reasons to like Christmas?

I do hope you, all your family, and all the readers of this blog will have a magnificent and joy-filled Christmas. Please, take time to remember what Christmas is really all about. It was not about getting presents. It is about Jesus being THEGIFT to you and me from God.