Holidays
I've never been one to get too excited about the holidays. It was just something that came and went and made everything a bit hectic. Now don't take me for a Grinch! :-) I like the holiday season. I like the fact that everyone is happy and jolly and that for the most part, people are a lot more friendlier this time of year.
The question that I always have is why? What makes this time of year so different than any other time? Are we only supposed to be friendly and nice to everyone from Thanksgiving to New Years? There must be something that sets this kind of like mindedness off. Is it because that this is the time of year that we celebrate the birth of our Savior? But what about those who don't believe the same way as I do? Is it because it is a sense that there will be a new beginning soon... a time to start afresh? But what about those who don't make resolutions for the new year? What makes this so special?
I think that is truely a God-given thing. This is time of year that we give. Proverbs says this: "Who ever gives to the poor will lack nothing." Jesus says: "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." Luke chronicles in Acts: "Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." It is right to give. Now I understand that most of our giving is not to those who are in need or to the poor. Sure we may put something in the Salvation Army bucket or give to a local charity this time of year but I think that most of us just like to give. It makes us "feel" better. It's a God-given thing.
And most of us, whether we admit it or not, resolve to do something a bit different in the New Year. It gives us a fresh start, a time to make things better for ourselves and those around us.
As a father and husband who is trying to get it Right, I want to teach my children to do these things throughout the year. To give to those who need, to resolve to try better the next time, not the next year. Mistakes happen. We fail. So what! We keep trying and as Paul wrote we keep striving for the goal!
Stewart Townend wrote a song called "In Christ Alone." He writes:
The question that I always have is why? What makes this time of year so different than any other time? Are we only supposed to be friendly and nice to everyone from Thanksgiving to New Years? There must be something that sets this kind of like mindedness off. Is it because that this is the time of year that we celebrate the birth of our Savior? But what about those who don't believe the same way as I do? Is it because it is a sense that there will be a new beginning soon... a time to start afresh? But what about those who don't make resolutions for the new year? What makes this so special?
I think that is truely a God-given thing. This is time of year that we give. Proverbs says this: "Who ever gives to the poor will lack nothing." Jesus says: "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." Luke chronicles in Acts: "Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." It is right to give. Now I understand that most of our giving is not to those who are in need or to the poor. Sure we may put something in the Salvation Army bucket or give to a local charity this time of year but I think that most of us just like to give. It makes us "feel" better. It's a God-given thing.
And most of us, whether we admit it or not, resolve to do something a bit different in the New Year. It gives us a fresh start, a time to make things better for ourselves and those around us.
As a father and husband who is trying to get it Right, I want to teach my children to do these things throughout the year. To give to those who need, to resolve to try better the next time, not the next year. Mistakes happen. We fail. So what! We keep trying and as Paul wrote we keep striving for the goal!
Stewart Townend wrote a song called "In Christ Alone." He writes:
No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
'Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand
Happy Holy Days!!!
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