Dear Friends,
No doubt many are concerned with how their Christmas will be this year. The economic forecast is one of gloom and doom. Many are worried about their jobs, some are concerned as to how the mess on Wall Street will affect their retirement income, and still others wonder if it is wiser to be saving money rather than spending it – even at Christmas! So shoppers are cutting back on spending as merchants hold their breath wondering how bad the fourth quarter, the one they rely upon all year long to make their profits, will actually be. Many will be watching Christmas gift spending this year with anxious hearts.
I’m not sure of what this will all mean as far as the celebration of Christmas, but it could mean merchants feel less than jolly because of a sub-par selling season, gift-givers feel guilty for not being able to spend as much on their loved ones as they had hoped, and those looking for certain gifts under the tree on Christmas morning feeling somewhat disappointed that their dreams of Christmas presents remain only that – dreams.
We can understand how people could be disappointed this year if Christmas gift giving and gift receiving were not quite what one hoped for or dreamed about. We have come to expect our Christmases to live up to certain standards. This Christmas those standards may not be met – just one more consequence of our economically troubled times.
Christmas could very well be disappointing this year except for one very important fact – Christmas is really about the coming of Christ – and what He means to the world and to our personal lives. The economic conditions of our world, our nation and our families does not affect the true hope of Christmas, for Christmas reminds us once again that Jesus was God’s gift to us for our salvation. Christmas reminds us that into a bleak, hopeless world came God’s hope for us in the person of Jesus. Christmas reminds us that when we feel hopeless or helpless, no matter what the reason (including economic ones), Christ still comes to offer us the gift of Himself, which satisfies the soul’s longing for what really matters most in this life.
When Jesus came that first Christmas, He came in a time when many people felt hopeless. People were poor and oppressed. They wondered if God remembered them and the promises God made to send them a Messiah. God kept His promise at that first Christmas and the world hasn’t been the same since. In some of the worse conditions known to Humankind, throughout the ages Jesus has brought hope. And He still does so today.
It is a difficult economic time. We don’t know when our economy will finally turn around. We know that many have lost a lot. Yet these difficult economic times need not spoil our Christmas, for we have hope through Jesus that transcends even the most difficult of times. May that great truth bless and encourage us this Christmas.
Merry Christmas!
Pastor Jim
No doubt many are concerned with how their Christmas will be this year. The economic forecast is one of gloom and doom. Many are worried about their jobs, some are concerned as to how the mess on Wall Street will affect their retirement income, and still others wonder if it is wiser to be saving money rather than spending it – even at Christmas! So shoppers are cutting back on spending as merchants hold their breath wondering how bad the fourth quarter, the one they rely upon all year long to make their profits, will actually be. Many will be watching Christmas gift spending this year with anxious hearts.
I’m not sure of what this will all mean as far as the celebration of Christmas, but it could mean merchants feel less than jolly because of a sub-par selling season, gift-givers feel guilty for not being able to spend as much on their loved ones as they had hoped, and those looking for certain gifts under the tree on Christmas morning feeling somewhat disappointed that their dreams of Christmas presents remain only that – dreams.
We can understand how people could be disappointed this year if Christmas gift giving and gift receiving were not quite what one hoped for or dreamed about. We have come to expect our Christmases to live up to certain standards. This Christmas those standards may not be met – just one more consequence of our economically troubled times.
Christmas could very well be disappointing this year except for one very important fact – Christmas is really about the coming of Christ – and what He means to the world and to our personal lives. The economic conditions of our world, our nation and our families does not affect the true hope of Christmas, for Christmas reminds us once again that Jesus was God’s gift to us for our salvation. Christmas reminds us that into a bleak, hopeless world came God’s hope for us in the person of Jesus. Christmas reminds us that when we feel hopeless or helpless, no matter what the reason (including economic ones), Christ still comes to offer us the gift of Himself, which satisfies the soul’s longing for what really matters most in this life.
When Jesus came that first Christmas, He came in a time when many people felt hopeless. People were poor and oppressed. They wondered if God remembered them and the promises God made to send them a Messiah. God kept His promise at that first Christmas and the world hasn’t been the same since. In some of the worse conditions known to Humankind, throughout the ages Jesus has brought hope. And He still does so today.
It is a difficult economic time. We don’t know when our economy will finally turn around. We know that many have lost a lot. Yet these difficult economic times need not spoil our Christmas, for we have hope through Jesus that transcends even the most difficult of times. May that great truth bless and encourage us this Christmas.
Merry Christmas!
Pastor Jim
