I'm not sure why, but it seems that I always go through a Bah! Humbug! stage at Christmas. At some point in time, it is going to pop out of me and splatter all over whoever is nearby.
Maybe it is the rush of shopping and planning and hoping. Possibly it is the realization that another year is past and things planned are left undone, things hoped for were not realized. Maybe it's knowing that so many of those I love are broken hearted.
Regardless, the "Scrooge" comes out of me and begins his ugly banter.
Of course, once I realize what has happened, I stop. I apologize to whoever has been hit with the shrapnel of my Scroogosity. And then I begin to enjoy the season.
Christmas! Christmas! What a marvelous time of year! The birth of Christ is celebrated or acknowledged by the entire world. Believers and non-believers alike are all affected by the hustle and bustle, the shopping, the un-ending buffet of goodies and treats and the wonder in a child's voice!
Whether you are singing a Christmas hymn or a silly Christmas jingle, the tunes are in your head. The sounds of Christmas are everywhere! The stores are playing Christmas carols as you shop. Your car radio is inundating your ears with the melodies. You find yourself singing along!
We can not get away from Christmas. All you Scrooges are fighting a losing battle.
Christmas! With the birth of Christ, the hope of the entire world is fulfilled. God sent His only Son in the form of one of us. A baby. A little boy. A Child. A Teenager. A young man. A living breathing human being. What an amazing life He lived! His life is inexplicable, unexplainable, beyond understanding. He is wise beyond our imagination. He heals the sick and broken hearted! He comforts! He provides! He brings the dead back to life!
Then... then He did something so far outside the box of religion that it has had all of humanity in an uproar ever since.
He died. God's Son laid down and died. God's Son suffered miserably and died. He did it deliberately. He did it on purpose. He did it to show us how much He loves us. He did it so that He could clean us up and turn us into the pure and clean spiritual beings we were created to be. He did it so that He could come back three days later the victor over Death and Hell!
Scrooges, take heed! Disappointed ones, listen up! You broken and hurting hearts, REJOICE!
Whatever your circumstance, you have every cause to celebrate Christmas! Without Christ's birth, there would be no sacrifice. Without His sacrifice, there would be no resurrection. Without Christmas we are lost to the darkness.
So please... pardon my Scroogosity and join me in the celebration of Christ's birth.
SHOUT FOR JOY all the Earth! Rejoice! Praise God for the most wonderful Gift of all time!
Christmas!
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