What do you want for Christmas?
We spend most of the Christmas season searching for that perfect gift, the
best bargain, the right decorations, and a parking space at the mall.
This year when the family all gets together, everybody will
bring only one wrapped gift. It will be placed on
the table for all to inspect -still wrapped. After we have gorged ourselves with turkey, dressing, dumplings,
green bean casserole, and pecan pie we will draw numbers to determine the gift
selection order realizing that that gift we select may be stolen by the next
person in line if they take a liking to it. We have seen grown men cry when
their favorite gift is taken from them.
We are so busy that we
miss the season’s true meaning. It was the same at that first Christmas in
Bethlehem. Almost everyone missed it. They were too busy looking for other
things. The politicians missed the first Christmas. The business community
missed the first Christmas. The innkeeper missed the first Christmas. In fact,
even the religious establishment missed the first Christmas, because they were
looking at other things. The only people who enjoyed that very first Christmas were the people who were looking for it.
The Angel told the shepherds "You'll
find the baby ... lying in a manger."
The Shepherds said: "Let's
go and see!" They found Jesus because they were searching. They were
seeking Him.
Later on another group, the wise men found Jesus because
they were seeking Him.
Now let me ask you, what are you going to find this Christmas?
I'll tell you what you're going to find: You will find whatever
you are looking for. In our society today there's a renewed emphasis on seeking
spiritual truth. Sometime back Newsweek magazine had an article titled,
"The Search for the Sacred." In it the writer commented;
"Maybe it's just a critical mass of Baby Boomers in the
contemplative afternoon of life. Or maybe it's anxiety over the coming
millennium, or maybe it's a general dissatisfaction with the materialism of the
modern world. For these reasons and more, millions of Americans are' embarking
on a search for the sacred in their lives."
The bottom line of this article is that people are asking, "Is
there any meaning to my life? Does my life count? Is there a God? And if there
is a God, can I get to know Him?"
That's what Christmas is all about, folks! The article
continued,
" A lot has changed in the past century. We've stripped
away what once our ancestors saw as essential, the importance of religion in
the family, and people feel they want something they've lost; they just don't
remember what it is they've lost."
The loss of a faith leaves a gaping hole and that, in essence, is a seeker's quest - to fill the hole with a new source of meaning. Why are we
here? What is the purpose of our existence?
Now, if you're honest with yourself, at least sometime this
past year, when you slowed down long enough, you probably asked yourself these
same questions.
"Why am I here? What am I here for? Why do I exist?”
Now, where do you think those questions coming from? It is God
Who is putting those questions in your mind! He is creating in you a desire and
thirst to know Him. God knows all about you; He wants you to know Him.
And there's no better time than Christmas to become a seeker
like the wise men were. Wise men, women, and children still seek God.
Whatever it is you are Looking for, That Is What You will Find.
