I love everything about Christmas. I love how it sounds. I love how it looks. I love how it smells. I even love how it tastes. (Can you blame me?)
But, one thing I hate is when my heart is not in the right place. No matter how much I try to get joy from all the outward Christmasy things to do and get, at the end of the day, I will still remain with a dry emptiness, or simply a superficial joy.
I heard somewhere this imagery. If the first button of a shirt is placed in the right buttonhole, the rest of the buttons will just naturally fall into place. If we claim that Jesus is the top button on our shirt, then we need to choose to button right, make Him priority number one, allow Him to take His rightful place … and naturally, the rest will fall into place.
As we joyfully spend money on Christmas gifts, don’t shortchange God in your tithing to keep more for yourself. It’s His money anyway. Button you shirt right, and all will fall into place.
As we fill up our calendar with activities, don’t forget to purposefully set time aside for a proper, and not rushed ‘Good Morning Jesus!’. Button your shirt right, and all will fall into place.
As we feel generous, don’t give gifts only to other givers, with the hope to get something in return. Give happily to the widow, to the orphan, to the lonely, to the unnoticed. In the end, that’s what God did. He sent a majestic choir of angels to give the best news to the lowly, poor and smelly shepherds that didn’t have much to give back. Button your shirt right, and all will fall into place.
As we take time to cuddle in front of a fireplace with a good book in our hands (or a youtube- virtual fireplace in our case), let’s take time to read Luke, Matthew, Isaiah (any of God’s Word) to get better acquainted with the Savior. Button your shirt right, and all will fall into place.
As we relate to one another, remember to grant forgiveness, to be willing to say ‘I’m sorry!’, to lavish others with the same grace and patience we’d love to receive. I know today, after only two hours of being awake, I had to already ask my kids to forgive grumpy mommy. Button your shirt right, and all will fall into place.
As we go through this season let’s be careful to separate chaff from nutrients, shallow from meaningful, top button from any other button.
Let’s put Christ at the front burner of our mind. In the end Christ-mas is ALL about Christ.
Meditate: Philippians 2:5-8
“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!”