It's beginning to look a lot like...

Tonight we are going to begin decorating for Christmas. Yeah yeah...I know. Its early. I was talking to a friend this past week about how much I love Christmas. Its not because of the presents. Its not even the decorations, music, food, or cultural traditions that we attach to the Holiday.

I love Christmas so much for a few reasons.

1. Life slows down. The nights are longer and the days are short and gray. Its either raining or snowing and cold all the time. Thus, people don't run around at such a fast pace. (except for inside the malls) I feel that when we slow down, we are able to see life around us, experience our relationships, and actually take time to look at our lives and ask questions.

2. People are exponentially nicer. Maybe its the feeling of the season. Maybe its because they think Santa sees them when they are sleeping (funny... if you rearrange the letters in Santa you get Satan...coincidence?...I think not). But people do the Thanksgiving thing and for at least once in the year are counting their blessings. Also, we all know we are going to be around family. Some of our families are awesome...some may be lunatics. Either way, we are prepared to be nice to them in the spirit of the season.

3. I'm a big "Jewishness of Jesus" guy. I believe that we can't fully understand the implications of the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus unless we learn the Jewish background that comes along with the story. I always picture myself at the turn of history... living in a crazy political climate...yearning for a Messiah...praying for a Deliverer. Singing songs, reading Psalms, quoting Scripture that rings of the promise. And then, almost out of nowhere, since the prophetic utterances that became OT Scripture had ceased for 450 years, Jesus, the eternal God takes on flesh...Can we every truly understand what happened? The plan that has existed since before the world began was being fulfilled. The God of the universe was coming to man, becoming a man, to save man...His beloved creation. Oh the mystery of what we call Christmas!!!

I want to live my life pursuing that mystery but most of all pursuing the God that became man to save me from my sins, turn away the wrath that was due me, and bring me into intimate fellowship with Himself.

I pray that as you walk these next couple months out, you would be in awe of that God. That you would know, deep down in your being, that life is more than all of this... school...work...relationships with others...eating...planning...saving...investing...creating a life for ourselves. Our life is a gift of a gracious God who wants us to use it finding Him.

Let's find Him.