The LifeNote

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                 Here I am again. Another Thanksgiving Day has come and gone. Time for me to pen some inspiring thoughts about Christmas. (That’s odd. Twice now I typed “inspiriting” instead of inspiring. Could that mean something?) My personal camera could pan backward conjuring up images of Christmas’ past. Hmmm. Some of that is inspiring and some of it isn’t. There’s always someone who turns up at Christmas I’d rather not deal with. I had a grandmother like that.

                 Sounds awful doesn’t it? How could a child not like her grandmother? But I’d see her black hat coming and I’d go into hiding. No, it wasn’t a witch’s hat, just a black one. She always wore a black hat. And I don’t think I didn’t like her so much as she didn’t like me. It was just one of those personality things. She liked my little brother though. She would give him some kind of cool toy for Christmas and I’d get underwear. That probably would have been okay if I had been thirteen instead of five.

                 That reminds me, ever open a gift and not be able to speak? It’s one of those moments when saying what has come into your mind would be a big mistake. At the same time, you can’t think of anything else to say because the same words keep coming into your mind. Not saying anything at all is not exactly having a positive effect either.

                 If you say thank you, you’re lying. If you pretend to like it, you’re also lying. If you smile, denial has set in. If you say what you think, everyone will feel uncomfortable and embarrassed. What’s a good Christian to do? Okay camera, pan to Bethlehem. Let’s focus on the real gift we get at Christmas, the Jesus gift.

                 Many people think Christmas is about family. It’s not. If you have a difficult, dysfunctional or nonexistent family, you are no doubt relieved. Christmas isn’t about the gifts you get or even the gifts you give.

                  Christmas is about a gift all of us need but forget to ask for. Christmas is about a gift all of us crave but are often afraid to receive. Christmas is about the gift of Jesus, God with us.

                 Now just breathe that in for a minute. God with us. God with us. God with us. God with us. Wow! Why would God want to do that? Be with us, choose us, come down to our level? What’s the attraction? What’s the point? There must be a catch. I mean look at us. What could we possible do for God? One does not need to perform a cost/benefit analysis to realize God pays all the costs and we get all the benefits. Why would God do that?

                 Inspirit that thought for a moment. What logical reason could God have to lower himself, to condescend, to be with us? I concluded long ago, God is not very logical. God loves us, and how logical is that? Grace and love are not logical. Neither is forgiveness and acceptance of us just as we are. The gift of Jesus, the gift of God with us and for us, the gift of Christmas is all gift. It’s the kind of present that leaves us speechless. Thank you can’t begin to cover all the gratitude involved.