It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
On these hot summer days, I pray this message from December 2022 will ring true in your hearts. Christmas is so much more than a season…
The days of December are nearly over.
Christmas 2022 will soon become but a lovely memory packed away with the annual decorations.
However, I am determined this year, above every year, to hold the lessons of Christmas deeply within my heart and as stirring guideposts for living.
“Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.” – President Calvin Coolidge
What are those never-ending, yet always vibrant lessons activated by the most wonderful time of the year?
The first precept that must never be forgotten is this one … “Nothing will be impossible with God!”
Do you recognize those words? They were the words of the angel to Mary … but this verifiably true phrase was never meant for Mary alone.
“Nothing will be impossible with God,” was meant to be the theme of your life.
We honor God when we ask of Him the impossible.
“Impossible” is what God does best!
Christmas is a time for miracles – but so are March and August and October. The reality of miracles is a gift of the nativity, and we must apply its truth to every day of every year.
The second perpetual lesson delivered from the story that never grows old is this … Christmas is magnificent for one reason and one reason alone. Let me explain …
This holy season signals the intervention of God into the life of humankind.
The sacred message of the season is that Christ has revealed Himself in me! I am unable to comprehend the wonder of this reality!
Tears course down my cheeks as I contemplate the fact that I have been chosen to house the Savior of the world.
I will never be alone again because He lives in me. Imagine that!
I have been commissioned, like Mary, to deliver His divine presence to a lost and dying world.
Joy has come to us, and His Name is Jesus.
The third driving narrative of the Christmas story is that the joy of heaven has now become the reality of earthbound living. The angels declared to the shepherds on that dark, cold night,
“Behold, I bring you good news of great joy which shall be to all the people for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” – Luke 2:10
Joy has come to us, and His Name is Jesus.
The joy is great for those who have chosen to follow the star … it is not a small, insignificant joy …but it is a GREAT joy!
When Jesus left heaven for the confines of planet earth, He didn’t leave His joy behind.
When Jesus entered time and humanity, He brought with Him the atmosphere that surrounds the throne room of God.
Joy is that atmosphere and now it surrounds our lives as well.
Jesus is Emmanuel – God with us.
The psalmist has boldly and truthfully declared, “In His presence there is fullness of joy.”
When Jesus comes into a life, He always brings the fullness of heaven’s joy.
What a gift! What a remarkable … too-good-to-be-true gift!
The fourth lasting directive is the simple yet profound wonder of the season that lives on and on in the life and heart of a believer.
Christmas truly is the most wonderful time of the year … not because of mistletoe, presents or the stunning decorations.
Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year because Jesus is wonderful!
“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest upon His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, the Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6
“I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year.” – Charles Dickens
And finally, I will remind myself daily that I was made for Christmas and Christmas was made for me.
We are a Christmas people.
We are a people whose lives have been forever changed by the Baby Boy. We have not changed Him, but He has changed us.
We have heard the song of the angels and we have joined in the triumphant chorus.
We have fallen under the weight of glory with the shepherds and have danced in the cold night air.
We have gazed in amazement as the young mother was captivated by the baby Boy – so fresh from the splendor of heaven. We, too, have looked deeply into His infant eyes and have been transformed by His love.
We have watched in wonder as the wisest men in history have bowed in adoration and we have humbly bowed with these ancient men … offering the gift of our hearts.
We are a Christmas people, and nothing will ever be the same for us again!
“He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.” – Roy L. Smith
In just a few short, dark winter days, December will be drawing to its expected conclusion and a new year will spring forward.
However … Christmas will never be over as long as there remains a Christmas people.
Soon we will pack away the visual remnants of the holiday season.
As we inevitably embrace goals and dreams for 2023 what remains of Christmas in the hearts of believers is undeniably permanent.
The world will continue to rejoice!
My heart will perpetually soar with the joy of this miraculous season!
Christmas is not over and never will it be!
Christmas will always live in me, and I will forever live because of Christmas.
Thanks for listening to my heart this week. As you know by now, my heart is truly not a perfect heart, but it is a heart that is filled to overflowing with gratitude for the life I have been given and for the people who walk with me. And, it continues to be a heart that is relentlessly chasing after God and all that He is!