The Adventures of Christmas Esimerkki

December 18th

There are two different types of people. There are the type that want a Hallmark Christmas tree. And then there are those who want a homemade looking Christmas tree. When I decorate the tree I like to color coordinate everything. I want that hot pine bling. There’s usually a lot of red and gold.

But then one of my kids will bring me something they made at school. I want a reindeer that looks artistic and they hand me something maybe Picasso would be proud of, but even that’s a stretch. As a loving father I say, “That’s so cool. Dad has a special spot for it… on the back of the tree.”

I know it’s awful, but it’s a great illustration. We are a lot like ornaments on the tree of life. The ornament represents our story, and each of us are very different. The mistake is when we feel like God only puts the really fancy looking ornaments in the front and hides the more artful ones in the back. But thankfully God is not like me when it comes to the Christmas tree. God is attracted to the broken. When it’s the season where we lose our reason, he patiently keeps pointing us back to the manger.

Have you ever thought about how crowded the manger scene is? I’m sure Mary would have loved some alone time with her baby. Most women don’t want an entourage in the delivery room. When you look at traditional manger scenes, it’s congested with...

Angels

Animals

And all these dudes.

Where are the ladies?

I bet none of these guys washed their hands. My wife would not have looked as calm as Mary. Look at her, so serene. My wife would not have been Silent Night, Holy Night. She would have said, “Cover up baby Jesus’ ears. I’m about to teach these so-called wise men some social skills. You might be good at studying outer space, but how about personal space?”

While the manger scene is not historically accurate, it was nearly that crowded. I love the manger scene because life is messy. Christmas is messy and God isn’t afraid to enter into that mess. While maybe we love the Hallmark look, we need to be prayerfully open to whatever God wants Christmas to look like this year.