Christmas Trees
by Pastor, Larry A. Attig
Becky and I were in a department store and like many couples, she went one
way looking for something, I went another. As I navigated the aisles in the men’s
section, something caught my attention from the far side of the store. There
appeared to be lights floating 6 or 8 feet above everything else. The glow of some
was constant, while others seemed to twinkle in a variety of colors. Instantly my
mind projected an image from the outline of the light. It couldn’t be… it wasn’t
even my birthday yet … but the shape of the lights could not be misinterpreted as
anything else. It was official … on September 12, I saw the first Christmas tree
display of 2014.
I remember the good ole days… (wow, can’t believe I said that) when Christmas
displays didn’t go up until the fall classic {baseball season} was in the history books
and for those non-Floridians among us, the chill of fall had turned into winter. It
made perfect sense, when you started planning for the Thanksgiving Holidays, only
then was it time for the Christmas promos to begin.
While I haven’t kept any official study, it seems like “Christmas” displays and
preparation happens earlier every year. But as I think about it … Maybe that’s not
such a bad thing…
Skip past the retail perspective, the number of gifts to be purchased and Santa
Clause and remember what Christmas was/is all about.
John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have
seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of
grace and truth.
Matthew 1:23 they will call him Immanuel __ which means God with us.
I’m not ready to put up our decorations quite yet, but what if when we look at
those displays, rather than complaining, “They’re earlier than last year!”, we let
them remind us of the Promises of God.
Let their brilliant, sparkling lights point out that Christ is still the light of the world.
That He is the promise of Hope. That He is the one who can bring peace and
forgiveness in the midst of the chaos.
I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today … a Savior
has been born. I’ll look for you around the Christmas trees.