Christmas Day. A day set aside to spend time with family, huddled around a Christmas tree, opening presents, eating large meals, and watching “A Christmas Story” all day and night long on TV. In fact, I read where playing this movie non-stop on Christmas day is now a 17 year old tradition. And actually, I love that movie! My daughter loves it so much that when she was 3, she went through about a year long phase of wanting to watch a little of this movie every single day. Not exactly sure what that says about our parenting skills, but she did grow out of it.
As if you actually need a recap of the movie (and live under a rock), here goes. The movie is centered around the joys of Christmas as seen from the eyes of Ralphie who is totally fixated on getting a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. But there are so many valuable lessons woven through the story that give real meaning to this Christmas Day tradition. Lessons such as: don’t put your tongue on a flag pole in freezing temperatures, daydreaming in class can make you look stupid, carefully choose the words you use in front of your children as you will hear those words again, a healthy marriage can withstand a broken lamp, wearing too many layers can keep you warm but also cause you to fall down in the snow and never get back up, bullies cry just like the rest of us, what our mothers warn us about is real (he DID shoot his eye out!), and any Christmas Day catastrophe can be fixed by going to a Chinese restaurant and singing FaRaRaRaRaRaRaRa (given my recent dinner party disasters, this last lesson may come in handy this year).
And as much as I love this Christmas Day tradition, it can’t compare to the real Christmas Story. A story that gives hope to each and everyone of us, that provides meaning to our lives, and allows for the greatest relationship we will ever have. It is the real story of the long anticipated birth of our Savior. As the great prophet Isaiah wrote many years before,
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” ~ Isaiah 7:14
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” ~ Isaiah 9:6
The journey to Bethlehem, the search for a place to stay, the inevitable manger destination, the angels appearing to the shepherds in the field, the wise men following the star, all leading to the miraculous and wonderful birth of Jesus. He came here for each of us because He loves us that much.
Perhaps this Christmas, Christ is calling us to His word (which is filled to the brim with much more valuable lessons than any movie could ever hold) to read about the real Christmas story. Consider reading in Luke and Matthew (scripture links included) about the wonderful birth of Jesus. Allow Him into your home and into your heart this Christmas. Perhaps Mary’s song found in Luke 1:46-47 will become our own.
My prayer is that Jesus is at the very heart of our Christmas celebration, that we still share in the wonder and amazement of the great love He has for us, and that we allow Him to be real and evident in our lives all year long.
Merry Christmas from my family to yours! A truly special thanks to each of you for your encouragement in my devotional writing this year. I couldn’t be more grateful for the extra time it has caused me to spend in scripture and I pray that it is an encouragement to you as we continue to learn together about moving from chaos to Christ.
