Do you want a “blessed” life? Of course you do! Who doesn’t, right? Only a hardcore atheist that does not believe in a “Bless-or” is repelled by the concept of being blessed by their Creator. However, what does the blessing of God look like, and how do we get on the blessed list . . . these are questions we often debate or question.
Before addressing those questions, I want to direct our attention to a very popular Christmas story – Santa Claus. In this story, Mr. Claus spends his year in the North Pole making blessings with his elves to deliver them on Christmas Eve night to those who have maintained their status on the “nice” list. “Nice” boys and girls get the prepared blessings, while “naughty” boys and girls get a lump of coal . . . a gift that appears even worse in today’s carbon footprint aware world.
So, in Santa’s Christmas story, his blessings are prizes for good behavior, and are withheld for those who do bad things (verified by Elves-on-shelves everywhere).
Is Santa’s story the same as the Savior’s Christmas account? Are the blessings of God delivered only to those who are “nice?” What if we have been a bit “naughty”? What if God has access to the shelves of my heart, not just my house? How would we ever expect blessing by God if He knows all my thoughts?
Well, thankfully, in the true Christmas story of Jesus’ birth, we see how God blesses His people AND who He blesses. (I’ll give you a hint . . . it is not based on how nice we are – you can see for yourself in Luke 1:45.) This Sunday at Wildwood Community Church, we will be looking at our second installment of our “Mary’s Christmas” sermon series as we treasure more truth about Jesus’ birth from Mary’s perspective. Make plans to join us in our 8:30, 9:45, or 11:00 worship service as we will be looking at Luke 1:39-45 together. See you Sunday!
P.S. In our 9:45 and 11:00 services on Sunday, the children will be singing in the worship services a collection of Christmas songs. This is a Wildwood tradition that I always love!
To access a 25 day Free Advent Devotional Guide, click here.