The Hard Side of Christmas

                                                The Hard Side of Christmas


By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept....on the poplar trees we hung our harps... our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy...How can we sing the songs of the Lord in a foreign land?    Psalm 137

We all entered that foreign land when we tried to worship the Sunday after the Newtown killing of the innocents. I personally made it through the the first song but when we started to sing "Joy to the World" I lost it. How could I sing 'Joy to the World' when the world is in such a state of lostness, anger, and sinfulness that innocent little kids become its victims? So we prayed, we cried, we tried to sing, and wondered 'why.' This Christmas season has a hard side.

They all have. From the moment of the announcment of Mary's pregancy hard things show up. Fear, confusion, thoughts of divorce, scandal, wearying trips, no room, rough wood mangers, run-for-your-life escapes to Egypt, Bethlehem's own slaughter of the innocents. We have painted our Christmases with sweetness and light, mirth and merriment, joy and love. Do not lose in the hard side of Christmas these truths. But the truth is, it was on account of the hard things, the sinfulful, the lost, the rebellious things that God sent forth his son. He came to save us because we needed saving.

Not everyone has gotten the message.

The nation is now in a dialogue about how to fix us. Gun control? Better more accessible help for the mentally ill? Let teachers carry guns in school? Ban violent video games? Might I suggest that although these discussions need to take place they won't fix us. How many children have to die, how many Aurora's have to take place, how many Amish killings, how many 9-11's, before we realize the problems run deeper than policies and programs? Our problems at their root are spiritual. We need forgiving, we need cleansing from sin, we need the power of grace, we need the purpose God has for our lives, we need a relationship with the God who created us. We need salvation and all the hope, peace, joy, love, justice, and promise of heaven that it brings. And the good news is we have a Savior.

But the angel said to them, "do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the otwn of David, a savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord..." Luke 2:10-11

Keep spreading the word and living its truths.

Merry Christmas.