That Three Dimensional Christmas Feeling

Guest Post By: Natalie Erickson

I am sure that we’ve all at least one fond memory of being a child in possession of a pop-up book. Pause a moment, look back, and picture the book resting in your tiny lap…your eyes reveling in child-like wonder at the unthinkable magic and beauty that this pop-up book afforded your imaginative mind. With every recurring turn of the page came a unique, three-dimensional surprise – a page-turning new world of unfathomable creation – set into motion by an author whose imagination withstood all obstacles.

Over the course of twenty-six years of life, I have turned the pages of many a pop-up book. Recently, I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a pop-up book of old…one whose pages I myself had turned with chubby little fingers and gleeful giggles. If ever the opportunity arises, open up a pop-up book as an adult and take some time to admire the artistry. Trace with your finger every delicate corner and contour that makes it possible for the page’s identical segments to fit seamlessly back into the page, like a perfectly cut puzzle piece. It is an incredible design to be sure. All of a sudden, a one-dimensional world becomes three-dimensional and alive! Now imagine if every detail were not defined and perfect. The image would become caught on the harsh grooves and jagged edges of the page, forbidding the page transform into the three-dimensional embodiment it was created to become.

During a time of year such as Christmas, in which I am forced to re-open my life’s own picture book, I often come face to face with a flat, dimensionless plane rather than the usual dimensional “pop-up” world that so closely mirrors our own. Here is a question for you… Do you ever feel like a one-dimensional person living within an already three-dimensional world? That your harsh, jagged edges do not properly fit within the meticulously dotted lines of expectation? How are we to suitably arrive at the three-dimensional design we were created to conform to when it seems we do not fit the puzzle pieces we were conceptually designed to seamlessly align with? The answer is simple. When left to our OWN devices, we have never (and will never) be capable of such a transformation.

I cannot speak for you but, personally, I find the beginnings of the Christmas season easy to spot. Christmas usually commences with the proverbial regurgitation of festive shades of reds and greens, canvasing anything and everything that seems in dire need of a little dusting of Christmas spirit. Shimmering lights of all shapes, colors and luminosity begin subtly twinkling merrily in store windows to becoming grandiose spectacles for nightly family outings. Glossy ornaments, tucked far back into the Christmas tree, gleam fancifully while the local radio stations eagerly switch on the old familiar Christmas tunes before the masses have had ample time to emotionally prepare. As a society, we say it all the time… This time of year is either meant for the people who take the time to sit back, relax and enjoy the traditions or for those people whose lives are already chaotic enough that they need an even better excuse to spend a month in a mental institution. Cut and dry, right?

I grew up loving Christmas in what some might view an unconventional fashion. As a child, Christmas seemed to be the single space of time in which everyone was happy. Looking back, I realize now that most of it was a facade of forced joy...skillfully persuasive when considering the gullibility of a child, but a facade nonetheless. With every Christmas that passed, I became more and more content with that one month of festive fakery because it offered a small semblance of normalcy which, in turn, encouraged extravagant dreams of what a future of endless Christmases might look like. But as

Christmas always does…it came and went and, with it, fled the magic of this three-dimensional world it invited every year for a single month. I grew to perceive Christmas as a fleeting moment in life in which I felt needed and important…thriving in this pretend world I had created for myself that was alive, engaging, and brimming with inspiration. To this day, whether it manifests itself in the form of my love for gift-giving, creating beauty in the form of festively cozy ambiances, or unsuccessfully attempting awkward combinations of song and dance routines to Christmas classics played on a loop…all of it remains a petty attempt to dismiss the hopelessness many of us experience this time of year. In the end, every fictitious storybook runs out of pages, leaving us grasping in vain for a gratifying ending that may never have been there to begin with. Fortunately for us, our story is one that was never meant to end in futility.

I say it all the time…I LOVE WORDS! “O Holy Night” is, perhaps, one of my favorite Christmas songs because of its simplistic yet meaningful lyrics. As you know, “O Holy Night” speaks to a celebratory night: “…the night of our dear Savior’s birth”. My favorite portion of the song reads thus:

“A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices

For yonder breaks a new glorious morn”.

I have never been a morning person so I cannot attest to having seen many morns break yonder…but I can say, with confidence, that this particular morning was definitely history’s most notable. What an incredible moment it must have been to have been present to experience the first rays of sunrise usher into Bethlehem the long-awaited realization that this swaddled child was the Savior prophesied to emancipate the world from the pangs of eternal death. This particular sunrise carried with it the onset of a completely new set of blueprints for the world…an eternal plan meant to shepherd a dying world – already drowning in the weary throes of hopelessness – to a world ALIVE with the hope of redemption!

When God began writing our individual stories, he was aware of the coarse, unshorn state of being that he was cutting us from…and was already prepared with a sleek, uniform mold in which to fit us. Instead of becoming hung up on the glitz, glam, and promises of fulfillment Christmas advertises, the season should act a reminder that God also did not intend for us to live in a world void of complexity or necessity. In those places of acceptance and reliance are found the integral moments in which God is able to step in and help us realize, fully, both the futility of our own situation and dire need for his intervention.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

John 10:10 explains that the object of Jesus’s coming acts in direct opposition to that of the thief’s intentions. Where the thief comes only to take, Jesus came to give…but not of simple gifts. Jesus came to offer us ABUNDANT LIFE…“Abundant” as in an overflowing increase BEYOND what is already essential to life! God not only promised us life in its most basic form, He promised us blessings above and beyond what was necessary to live the beginnings of a happy, fruitful life. In Ephesians 1, Paul

speaks of “…the riches of his grace which he lavished upon us…” referencing a welling-over of undeserved gifts, afforded us through an outpouring of grace. It was not enough that Christ (acting in mercy) ultimately spared us from the permanent damnation of lasting death. No, he then went on to name us “His Beloved” and prepare every one of us a place in glory. From beginning to end – from birth to death to life – it seems such a fantastical story… Can you believe it is true?

So in the moments of questioning, when you take your own personal pop-up book into your lap, struggling to open it for fear of what you may find inside…remember who your author is. Treasure everything you have learned about who he is, recall all that you know of his infinite mercy and grace and of the redeeming story he has already written the world. There is no universe so bleak in which you are capable of residing in a one-dimensional form because God’s artistry is not confined to the barrenness of a one-dimensional universe.

Have faith.

Open the cover of your book.

Turn its pages with bated breath…

Welcome, beloved, to the third dimension

When it's Not the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Guest post by: Carter Wright

Before you begin reading this, I want to take the time to tell you that you are not alone and that you might be wired for failure and shame - but you are worthy of belonging and you are worthy of being loved. There have been many mornings in my life where I wake up, make my coffee, look in the mirror, and tell myself those words that were passed along to me in an extremely difficult season of my life. It seems like around Christmas time, I am telling myself those words more as I get older.

For many, Christmas time is what they would consider “the most wonderful time of the year.” We have all heard the carols joyfully telling the stories of the stockings that are hung by the chimney with care and the lights that twinkle off of the ornaments that are just as carefully put up as they are put away when the season is over.

However, there are many this season that will look underneath “thy lovely branches” and will see that there are fewer gifts than last year, one less smiling face, or an empty chair at the dinner table. For these people, it is the most painful and difficult time of the year.

For some of you, it might have been a death in the family, a shattered marriage, an empty nest, or the loss of a relationship. This year I moved away from the home that I knew for all of my life, and with that my family grew older, birthdays passed, family gatherings had an empty chair for me, and some of the most meaningful relationships in my life grew weak and dwindled. I hung up ornaments on my own tree this year that my mother sent me from home. I remember doing this together with her every year, and this year as I was hanging up my most favorite one from my childhood, I sat in the floor of my apartment and just cried.

Take heart in this, even though this is a difficult season, you are not alone. The peace of the Spirit is falling all around you. Find peace in the Holy Spirit knowing that this time will come and go. The best possible thing you can do is to relish and enjoy every single moment possible with the ones you love and who are still with you while honoring those whom you have lost. It is OK if traditions change, it is OK to say “No”, it is OK if you can’t afford it, it is OK to take the time that you need to navigate this difficult season.

Find peace in the words of your Father:

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” - 2 Corinthians 4:17

To those of you who are reading this and don’t understand, because this is the most wonderful time of the year for you, let me encourage you. Find and love on the ones who wish this season was over with already. We are called to love the widows, the orphaned, the grieving, the outcasts, the ostracized, and the unloved. Be the light in someone's life this Christmas Season that you would want them to be for you.

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” - Mark 12:30-31

The One Gift We Forget to Give

Guest Blog by Mary Vance Berlin

It’s that time of year where gift-giving is everywhere! Christmas gifts are being purchased and wrapped to be placed under trees, food items are being collected for food banks, toys are being collected for families who have needs, shoe boxes filled with gifts are being packed to send to children in other countries, gift exchange parties are being held, end of the year bonuses are being given, and gift cards are being handed out to people who serve us (hair dressers, mailman, lawn care providers, and so on)…it’s definitely a season to make choices and decisions of what to give to others.

And in the midst of all this, I find myself pondering a question…

Did the Magi wrestle with what gifts to bring to the Christ child?

“And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” Matthew 2:11

The gifts the Magi presented had not only financial worth, but symbolical value as well. Gold, while extremely pricey, was a precious metal exclusive to kings and royalty. Frankincense was an expensive oil and fragrance used in important ceremonies. Myrrh was a spice and substance that was preparation for anointing.

Each of these treasures the Magi gave to Christ Jesus was a foretelling of Who He is.

The gold pointed to His Kingship.

“On His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.” Revelation 19:16

The frankincense, used in the temple ceremonies by the priests to lead the people in intercession, revealed Christ Jesus is our High Priest Who would forever be interceding for us.

“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.” Hebrews 4:14

And the myrrh? It was also used in ceremonies of anointing kings, as an incense in intercession, and for anointing at burials, foreshadowing the coming death of Christ on the Cross.

“And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:8

The Magi might not have understood what each gift they were bringing would signify as they traveled for years following the star, but God did as He guided each selection. In these three treasures, God gives us a glimpse into the truth of Who Jesus is and that He was born in the shadow of the Cross.

As extravagant as these treasures were, the Magi’s first gift was literally priceless.

They went into the house. People just do not walk into someone’s home without being invited, and this indicates God had issued a welcome to them.

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him…” John 6:44

The Magi were given introduction to Mary, but they “saw” the child, and this is where their first gift begins. Babies and small children are certainly adorable and noticed, but strangers do not have the reaction these men had to this particular child. Upon seeing Him, the Magi fell and worshiped, and herein is their real gift to the Christ child. God opened their eyes and hearts to recognize they were in His presence, and their response was to immediately worship.

“So that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth…” Philippians 2:10

During this Christmas season of activities filled with family and friends and gift-giving, I pray that you and I learn this critical truth in giving to Christ. Presenting our treasures as an offering is a good gift, but what brings joy to His heart is to give Him our total and absolute and consuming worship of Him alone.

Jesus' 100% Cure for Ingratitude

By: Howard Cole

What if Jesus could change that one unchangeable thing in your life? Yes, the very one you’ve just about given up on. The way you answer the following question provides the key to healthy change: “Do you owe God or does God owe you?”

Luke, an early story-teller about Jesus, told a true tale about ten men. These men were powerless to change their unchangeable leprosy. Leprosy was like cancer back then, but even worse. It was like contagious cancer. And even worse than that it was like socially contagious cancer. You can read all about it in Leviticus, which contains the laws of leprosy.

The story of God told in Scripture devotes a great deal of attention to leprosy. Why? Because leprosy, more than any other form of human wreckage symbolizes the sad and serious human condition under sin. Michael Harper writes:

Sin separates us from God and from one another. So does leprosy. Sin slowly rots away human life. So does leprosy. Sin is at first not easy to diagnose: It works silently and secretly. So does leprosy. Sin disfigures and distorts. So does leprosy. Sin paralyzes and removes feeling and sensitivity. So does leprosy. Sin ultimately caused death. So does leprosy.

The Jewish historian Josephus tells us that Lepers were treated, as if they were, in effect, dead persons.

The ten lepers stood together that day socially separated from all the other men, women and children of the village. William Barclay explains that back in those days a leper had to keep six feet away from others at all times. If the wind was blowing, they had to increase the distance to 150 feet away.

While Luke does not tell if the wind was blowing that day, he does tell us that suddenly, everything changed for the lepers’ unchangeable condition.

As the story goes, the men catch sight of Jesus and yell in unison “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!!”

Jesus’s eyes lock onto these lepers and twinkle with an intermixture of authority and compassion. He doesn’t take out a magic wand and wave it in the air. He doesn’t chant a hocus-pocus spell. What does he do to cure these incurables?

He speaks two quick commands that bridge the unbridgeable distance between him and these outcasts: “Go and show.” Go and show what to whom? “Go and show yourselves to the priests”. The leper laws mandated that a leper claiming that he was cured must get checked out by the priests. If he passed the public health tests, a certificate was given to him so that he could show it to everyone. That certificate cured the social distance by curing the fear others had toward a leper. When Jesus speaks he does more than cure their skin condition. He cures their social condition.

And then something unexpected happened. As all ten began walking toward the temple they were immediately cleansed.

But then something even more unexpected happened. Only one of the ten returned to give thanks to Jesus. A Samaritan (an outsider to the Jewish faith) noticing his soft, healthy skin, shouts praise to God, falls on his face at the feet of Jesus and does something the other nine refused to do.

He thanks Jesus for the merciful healing. Jesus admits his surprise with a question “weren’t ten made clean, where are the nine?” Let that question hang in the air so that you have the time to reach out and grab it. Better yet, let it grab you and begin to change you: “Where are the nine?”

The story ends with a surprise twist when Jesus says “Rise and go your way, your faith has made you well.” The word Jesus uses for wellness is a form of the word salvation. This is shockingly different than what the other nine experienced, which was only an outward cleansing.

What is the 100 percent cure for ingratitude? Admitting that you don’t deserve mercy but that you must come to and depend on Jesus for salvation. And the salvation Jesus gives to a thankful sinner goes beyond skin deep change.

Because you are joined to Jesus by undeserved grace, through saving faith, the deepest unchangeable thing about you (your sinful condition and deserved separation from God) is changed forever. Won’t you return thanks to God right now for his gifts but especially the free gift of His son?