Well Christmas is upon us. It is here!!! It has finally come… wait? You aren’t that excited either? This season of Christmas really got the jump on me personally. Stacie & I were talking yesterday and we realized this year the anticipation was not there as it has been in years past. We realized that part of that had to do with the fact we didn’t get one another gifts this year (we bought and built a house). That anticipation of seeing the joy on your spouses face, that excitement of opening a gift from a loved one, that wasn’t there for us this year. Which is totally fine. The problem is we know, or should know, its not about any of that. Where has all the excitement gone? What about the birth of the Christ child? The celebration of the our Advent, His return?
Well honestly, it get numbed by all the ‘other things’ I ‘need’ to get done. I have not taken time this year to prepare my heart at all. I have been so focused and excited about our services, and preaching on New Years, getting amped for my 2nd promotion in less than year on staff here at church and other opportunities going on to have slowed my heart and prepared it for this season. My mind is so far and focused on the when and what next that I lose sight of the now. But when I get caught in the now there are things that come forth reminding me why I spend so much time in the future instead of the present tense of now.
Stacie & I had a wonderfully difficult chat the other night about some things in both of our lives. One of the key things I was reminded of is that God has blessed me with incredible amounts of discernment and vision. I have eyes of God to see whats going on in peoples lives, see through the muck and out exterior, and even ears of God to hear the deeper issues, hear the future of what is next. What I lack greatly though is God’s heart. I lack the heart of Christ that gives life and meaning to those other great gifts.
I came this realization on Thursday night when I realized I had not been showing compassion to so many who were in need of it. I had cast judgement on them because of their actions, actions that the world could justifiably say “Yeah I see why you would think that about that person”.
I realized that night that my flesh of cynicism and negativity had begun to rear its head again. These are traits that bring others down and just aren’t helpful for anyone. These traits keep me from loving people like Jesus, from seeing the greater good in everyone, from really connecting with others, and they keep brewing toxicity in so many ways that it becomes harmful for so many around me.
So, here is where things WILL be different. I going to be taking a journey through 12 days of Christmas as I practice what it means to show Christ’s compassion, Christ’s love. There are a few Spiritual Practices of what is called International Living that I will be doing. Each day I will journey into the foot steps of Christ in seeing how He interacted with others, how He responded ultimately through compassion and love.
My prayer is that this reflective time of living it out will be so transformative for me that it will be a milestone for me in my faith.
Look at your own life these 12 days of Christmas (December 25-January 6th) what area or areas in your life might the Spirit be calling you to lean in and follow the steps of Christ more closely?
