DELL RAPIDS NEWS

Christmas should be much more than lists

Milt Borah
Fuel for the Soul
Milt Borah

Lists. That’s usually how the Christmas season starts, isn’t it? Making lists getting ready for Christmas. Let’s see, there’s the gift list, the party guest list, menu lists, baking lists, activities list, Christmas card list. You getting the idea? But I contend there’s another kind of Christmas preparation. It’s the heart kind…the hard kind. (Is there really a difference, really?)

If we were to backtrack, you’d read a birth announcement for a baby boy. But not Jesus, his cousin, John - Zechariah and Elizabeth’s unexpected blessing. The name John means “God is Gracious.” John’s main calling was to ‘make ready for the arrival of the Messiah.’ This year, let’s have a ‘John moment.’ Let’s be a people that are prepared for the arrival of the Messiah. Not prepared in the way of having all those lists accomplished, but prepared by making some space and time for us to really ponder, meditate, and prepare for Jesus. Let’s clear the clutter for Christ! I’m not saying to do away with those lists. I’m actually a list guy. But let’s also take a moment to listen, because when we listen intentionally and expectantly to our Creator, we give Him an opportunity to change us.

Let Christmas be so much more than a bunch of lists to accomplish and may our focus on Jesus make Christmas spectacular and memorable!

Luke 1:67-79 Then his father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy: “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and redeemed his people. He has sent us a mighty Savior from the royal line of his servant David, just as he promised through his holy prophets long ago. Now we will be saved from our enemies and from all who hate us. He has been merciful to our ancestors by remembering his sacred covenant— the covenant he swore with an oath to our ancestor Abraham. We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live. “And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord. You will tell his people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins. Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”