Tonight as Pete and I were walking downtown, we noticed the Festival of Trees going on. Although in it's last few moments, for a $2 donation to a local boys and girls shelter (aptly named "The Shelter") we got to go inside and experience Christmas nirvana. Or was it really?
Maybe it's just me, but it seems that Christmas has been even more secularized this year than before. The Festival of Trees was the same way. While the evergreens remind us of God's ever present love for us, and the twinkling lights are supposed to remind us that we are the light of the world, not one tree was decorated with kings or angels. Not one tree reminded us of the gift that was given on December 25, and what that gift ultimately means for our salvation.
Starbucks invites you to "listen to your desires and to renew your hope." Renew your hope in what? Our hope is in the Lord. "To see the world not as it is, but as it could be." How is the world going to be come that way? How are YOU going to make that happen? "Go ahead, wish. It's what makes the holidays the holidays." It's Christmas people. CHRISTmas. St. Nicholas--the former and more appropriate name for Santa Claus-- gave gifts to poor children in honor of Christ's sacrifice for us, not to see our stock prices climb.
A local church has the following on their outdoor sign:
Q: "What is Christmas without Christ?"
A: "Mas"
This year, I encourage you to stop and think why you're giving gifts, why you're singing carols, and for what purpose you were given this life. After all, wise men still seek him.
