John 12:46 (NIV)
I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who
believes in me should stay in darkness.
One of the highlights of our Christmas Eve service is always
the candle lighting at the end. The lighting of the candles symbolizes Jesus
as the light of the world and our task to represent Him as lights in the world.
Then we sing "Silent Night".
One of the things to get ready for the service is to get
enough candles for the 175 – 200 people in attendance.
This thought hit me, "It's Christ's birthday!" Maybe
we should get 2014 candles?
How amazing it is that after 2000 years, we still
celebrate Jesus' birthday. But how easy it is to get so caught up in our
Christmas traditions and busyness that we forget the fact that Christmas is
Jesus' birthday. Imagine holding a big birthday party and not remembering to
invite the birthday person! To consciously include Christ, what gift will we
give Him? Will it be to forgive someone that we've held a grudge against? Or
maybe to extend unconditional love towards someone whom we find it hard to
love? Or perhaps we might even pledge obedience to Jesus, who lived and died to
pay the penalty for our sins, and rose again to give us eternal life, a
relationship with God that will go on forever. Let's make this a special
Christmas and truly celebrate Jesus' birthday. It could even include a cake
with a white candle and singing "Happy birthday, dear Jesus!"
Dear Lord, help us remember that it’s Your birthday we are celebrating. Help us spread the joy of Your birthday to
everyone we come into contact with this Christmas season. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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