It's the most wonderful time of the year
There'll be much mistle-toeing
And hearts will be glowing
When loved ones are near
It's the most wonderful time of the year
(lyrics by Andy Williams)
Yeah yeah yeah… we’ve heard it on the radio… we’ve see it in the movies… we even hear about it at church during this time of year. We know that it’s supposed to be a season of joy, a season of laughter and a season of good cheer… the “hap-hap-happiest time of year” right?
But there’s just one problem….IT ISN’T! The holiday season reminds us of everything that ISN'T right in our lives and highlights all the areas that AREN’T going according to plan.
- It’s a season where the feelings of loneliness that exist all year long get magnified.
- It’s a season that every year is less and less joy and cheer, and more and more anxiety, stress and fear.
- It’s a season where we’re flooded with images of families having fun and people being happy and we’re left to just wonder…why not me?
Why doesn’t my life match? Why can’t I have that too? Things were supposed to be different by now; this circumstance wasn’t supposed to still be here. Why God, why?
What happened to the Christmas spirit? Where is it? When did Christmas go from “the most wonderful time of the year” to the most miserable/stressful/lonely/depressing time of the year?
What happened here? The answer, I believe, is simple: we stopped focusing on GIVING and started focusing on RECEIVING.
If you’re a Christian, then that means that you are a “Christ-follower” – someone who claims to be a follower/disciple of Jesus. If that’s the case then you need to listen carefully to what YOUR Master – the One you claim to be a disciple of – is quoted as saying in Acts 20:35: “It is more blessed to GIVE than to RECEIVE.”
More blessed to give than to receive – a statement we’ll all heard, read and probably said once or twice as well. But do we believe it? Do we REALLY believe it? Is my life driven by a desire to give? Or rather to receive?
And before you start rattling off your laundry list of good deeds (volunteering at soup kitchen, helping old ladies across the street, offering your uncle George the last slice of apple pie at Thanksgiving even though you both know that he had more than his fair share...), realize that there’s something else (or rather someONE else) that you need to consider.
The principle of "it is more blessed to give than to receive" doesn't just apply to our relationships with people on earth; it applies to our relationship with our Father in heaven as well. You can see that by analyzing the mindset with which are you approaching Him currently.
You can approach with a mindset of RECEIVING.
“God I need this. God I need that. If You loved me, You would have given me this by now God. Please BLESS ME by allowing me to RECEIVE more stuff…”
Or you can approach with a mindset of GIVING.
“God, what can I offer to You? How can I show You how much I love You and appreciate You. You’ve given me so much more than I deserve or could even ask for. What can I offer back? Please God, BLESS ME by allowing me to GIVE back to You.”
I believe Christmas is supposed to be about giving. It’s about how God the Father gave His Only Begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. He gave and that's why from His end, there's joy.
But now it’s our turn. It’s our turn to love God so much that we seek to offer something to Him. That’s the only way to truly be happy and find blessing this Christmas season - not by focusing on receiving, but by focusing on giving.
So to slightly rephrase what John F. Kennedy once said:
Ask not what others can offer to you this Christmas (including God).
Ask what you can offer to others (including God again).