We demonstrate what we value by what we give our attention and affection to. Dedicated moms know where their children are all the time. If one is missing, even for a moment, while Christmas shopping…panic sets in. We value our little ones!
The object of our devotion reveals what is important to us.
I walked into the Mall two months ago and was greeted by sparkling lights, festive music, fully decorated Christmas trees of every size and color, and the warm scent of cinnamon and pine wafting in the air…it was September 1st! Thanksgiving was fourteen weeks away! Christmas was over three months away!
The materialistic focus had begun and the most celebrated event of the year was lost in a world of themed decorations, color coordinated ornaments, hearth garlands and welcoming wreaths ready for our front doors…an obvious demonstration of what the world values. I looked in vain for a Nativity scene. Where was the real object of our celebration…our “reason for the season”…Jesus Christ?
“Christ is not valued at all unless He is valued above all!”
In our seasonal release, “A Royal Christmas to Remember” the princesses found that although the entire village had been ransacked by a band of marauding outlaws, they were amazed to find that the Nativity scene had been left unscathed. They stood gazing down at the baby Jesus and thanked God that He had come into the world and that no one was injured in the attack. Their focus was on the Savior who had come to bring peace. Regardless of the circumstances around them, their hearts were captured by the wonderful gift God gave us in His Son! They were filled with unspeakable joy.
“Christmas is not a myth, not a tradition, not a dream. It is a glorious reality. It is a time of joy. Bethlehem’s manger crib became the link that bound a lost world to a loving God. From that manger came a Man who not only taught us a new way of life, but also brought us into a new relationship with our Creator. Christmas means that God is interested in the affairs of people; that God loves us so much that He was willing to give us His Son.” Billy Graham
“For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given…and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9: 6
Who is the object of your attention this season??
~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America. Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California. My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights.
