What Do I Say Now?
Talked to Dad last night... What I thought was turning out to be a sturdy Christmas substitute has crumbled just as quickly as I saw it go up... Was it the pressure of the imminent paper deadline? (If so, I don't ever want to research under pressure again...)
I may post the actual article sometime... I'll have to think about that for a while. Thanks to my good friend Matt, who happens to be chief editor of the paper, my potentially misguided writting will not be appearing in the paper on Friday.
I'm in a confusing place right now... My faith in God Himself is still sturdy... because I know I can trust Him to help me understand this, while all other sources have discredeted each other.
It's like starting from scratch. Everything I thought I new about holidays and holy days is scattered all over the ground in pieces. But maybe that's to my advantage. I can put a sturdier meaning and focus into the foundation of... whatever God directs me to rebuild.
In a way, it makes me think of how I tuned out what the everyone had to say about pre-marital dating and just focused on what I heard God telling me (mostly, via His Word). I had to tear down a lot of pre-concieved ideas and start over. But when I listened only to what God had to say, that's when He stepped in and did something amazing. He guided me to someone with all of the qualities the He had been training me to look for. One of which being that she also saw God's leading in what was happening. And you know the rest of the story; she's agreed to become my wife in 177 days.
Just like dating used to be for me... holidays no longer make sence to me. And it's God's perspective I want now more than anyone else's. Because I know from experience that He honors that.
(Of course, I'm not beneath asking for help in finding His perspective...)
posted by ~Kevin at
9:22 AM
1 Comments:
Hmmm... you always leave me thinking on subjects such as these (that's why I like that we're friends!)I may not have a whole lot of 'push' or 'pull' in the for/against position I am seeing; but here is my opinion, biased as all opinions are :D
God indeed did not tell us specifically in His Word that we were to remember/celebrate his birth day. (In fact theological historians argue that based on facts from the time period, the actual day of Jesus' birth may be closer to March than December) Anyway, I would ask to see what He did say about His birth...(Are you ready to travel? I am!)
Let's fumble past Matthew and Mark into good ol' Luke, shall we? Chapter 2 if you would like.
10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Now, the angel didn't tell the Shepherds to take off and see Jesus, but it was implied. And they did take off to see Him. It was a busy time for them- critical! They were watching their livlihood, but they took off to see this Amazing Creation. Let's continue on.
16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
Mary treasured the gifts given to her in her heart. These weren't just physical things, but also verbal things (what was being said). In truth, Jesus birth day was a day of shock and amazement. I would like to dive into this a bit more, but time restrains me. For now let me just say this:
The wise men came, not because they were told by God, but because they desired to. Also, the shepherds came, not because they were told to by God, but because they desired to. Whatever day people celebrate Jesus' birth, it should be because of a desire to. James 4:8 says to draw near to God and he will draw near to you. I think Kevin, the reason WHY people are celebrating Christmas now should be a bigger issue than all the junk around it. No one made any fuss that He was next to a cow when He was born...
Sorry my thoughts are longer than my time! Later friend!
By
Fitz, at 9/12/06 5:47 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home