Celebrate Our Savior by Jason Ling

 Luke 2:11-14 “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
     
It is that time of year again when we celebrate the birth of our Savior. What a celebration it should be. I remember as a kid the joy and anticipation that I felt leading up to Christmas. I couldn’t wait for Christmas Eve after church to open my presents and eat some oyster stew. For some reason over the years the excitement and anticipation has changed. Millions of our friends suffer seasonal depression and anxiety. The celebration for many has turned into a burden. Could it be all the ads telling us to buy this or that to show how much we love them? Maybe in some way we have bought into all these commercials and feel obligated to provide above and beyond our means. Time out!

Christmas isn’t about all the gifts we give each other or eggnog or even decorations. It’s all about God’s gift of a humble servant that was born 2000 years ago that shed his own life, so that we may be reconciled with God. Now that is a gift worth celebrating. Luke shares these events of a humble beginning and the celebration of all the heavens as the angels sang for joy. The whole world shook with this news and continues to this very day. That brings excitement and joy back for me.

This year I have had to reassess my holiday season and get back to my roots and celebrate what Christmas is really about, that is the ultimate gift that God himself gave each and everyone of us, Jesus The Christ. Don’t get me wrong, I love to celebrate with family. I just want to make sure we are celebrating the right thing, bringing joy to all and not just a select few.
 
My prayer for all this year is that we really marvel at the mysterious way God delivered this perfect gift to all of man kind. I pray that we all praise God and thank him for all he has provided for us and continues to provide every single day. May we give Him all the glory this season rather than fret about our own, as his gift of salvation can never be outdone, Amen.