Thanksgiving day, our home was two-cookies-and-a-glass-of-milk away from Christmas: nativity scenes dusted; fake fir tree tucked in its corner; yuletides playing; and pretend fireplace youtube-ing.
Don’t judge. But, our family gets excited about Jesus’ birthday party.
Part of decorating that day is dealing with the entwined Christmas lights. Those twisted wires and delicate mini-lightbulbs… always a delight.
Christmas or not, don’t we all have tangled delicate lights in our life?
Christ followers want to be a good-news people in a bad-news world, but “It takes safe people to create safe places.” as Doug Pollock wisely said.
As we get sucked into the Christmas vortex of prepping for the season, may we take time to untangle ‘our personal Christmas lights’ to shine brighter.
Just like the Star that led the wisemen, may our life twinkle with godliness pointing others to Jesus through: a gentle answer, a smile more real than my fake fir tree, encouraging words, a genuine prayer, a living matching our talking.
“Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.” James 1:23-25
As a preacher said it once “For evangelism, you don’t need the greatest person, the greatest technique, the greatest words, you simply need the greatest likeness to God.”
Untangling sin that trips us up, and hinders others from seeing Christ in us, is a first step toward likeness to God and evangelism.
What first step can I take right now to attend to my unlit Christmas lights needing untangling first?
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” James 1:23-25