It’s Christmas Eve!Yay!Shopping for the last gift or two, preparing for a glorious feast,carol singing, making sure your new clothes are perfect for the early morning service,adding final touches to the christmas tree,a star dangling from the porch,christmas 'parties',over-the-top festive mood setting in…..Ah!the joys of the Christmas season! No wonder it's called ‘the season of joy'.Wait a sec.Did I just say ‘joy’?
A few thousand years ago,it was on a cold winter's night as this when a young girl,in her late teens,was told by heaven’s special agent,Gabriel,about a son she was going to bear who would be the Savior of the whole world!Great news right? Well...Considering that Mary was a virgin pledged to be married to a well-respected man in the society,becoming pregnant at that point of time,was not exactly great news to her.She would become the laughing stock of town,a social outcast,she'd have to face the threats of a broken engagement and worse,she'd even be termed as a prostitute.She had every reason to be unhappy about.But you know what she said?
"My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior"(Luke 1:46,47).
Honestly,I admire this woman.She did not look at her circumstances but rejoiced at the fact that God had chosen her ,a mere carpenter’s wife-to-be, to bear the Savior of the world.God was to become man,an event that was to bring hope to a hopeless world and change the course of history and Mary was instrumental.
Recently, I was asked what Christmas meant to me personally.To me,Christmas is a time of thanksgiving-thanking God for the gift of His Son,for choosing me to be a part of His big family,for giving me the hope of an eternal life and simply knowing that I have Someone who loves me dearly and this is the reason that I rejoice at His birth.To those of you out there,missing your loved one at Christmas like me or wondering how to spend the day alone,take heart!A silent prayer with a heart full of gratitude to the One who became man to save you and me is a celebration in itself!My circumstances don’t have to give me a reason to rejoice but knowing that my Lord’s birth has given you and me a new life has to! All of the superficial things that accompany the season-Santa,parties,lights,decorations-they can leave you all the more empty if you miss out on the Reason for the season.The real joy comes from knowing this Saviour.Do you 'know' Him?
Wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Blessed new year 2012!
