I really enjoy Christmas – the decorations and lights, food, gift giving, and catching up with family and friends.

But Christmas time also leads me back to the start of the bible, when God called Abram (later Abraham) to leave his country, his people, family and friends, and his father’s household idols, and be led to a life in a new land, with the promise he would become the father of a new people, and be a blessing to all peoples.

The idolatry that Abraham was called to leave seems to have devolved from the original worship of God passed down from Noah.  But over time, people turned their focus away from God and onto his visible gifts of light – the stars, the sun and the moon.
Those symbols of God’s light became their objects of worship; it was like being spiritually short-sighted.
And around us now we can see spiritual short-sightedness too, as many people focus on the good things about Christmas, but want them without God.

People can be misled into thinking that good health, harmony, happiness, loved ones and material comfort are everyone’s right for this season.
But real life is not like that.  We still face hardships and sorrow, pain and illness.  And if people think their own good time has priority, they’re at cross purposes and in conflict.
Without Christ at the centre of Christmas, this tends to be a time of disappointment, stress and strife, and it’s an extremely busy time for social workers and psychiatrists.

Those wise men from the east who came searching for Jesus with their knowledge of the stars, were likely called from the same idolatry as Abraham.  Their worship of Jesus confirmed that the purpose for which Abraham was called had been fulfilled in Jesus, and through Him all peoples would be blessed.

Just like Abraham and the wise men we too are called – to look beyond self, material comfort and the other idols of our time.
We are called to a journey through this life with a promise of God’s truly perfect gift – of new life in Jesus.

Here at our Lord’s table, we celebrate Christ’s gift of forgiveness, given with a love deeper than we can fathom.
For in Jesus’ victory on the cross, He took the penalty of death for our sin, upon himself, that we may be declared righteous and reconciled to God.
And by his resurrection we are freed from the power of death, to live the new and never-ending life he freely gives as we place our faith in him.

As we know Jesus as our personal saviour, we can enjoy these Christmas traditions whatever our circumstances.
True peace, harmony and love, are blessings we receive when we are reconciled to God through Jesus.