Focus, Focus

We took my nine year old great niece out for a day of shopping. We and she had a specific list of must buys. Of course, with a child shopping during the Christmas season things fell apart very quickly. Our must buy list turned into, “Ooooo, can I have this? I want this. I really need this. Please, get this for me.” The lights and glitzy displays didn’t help because stores want to compel us to buy. Everything is meant to distract from the real shopping list to the spur of the moment purchases and over spending.

The adults kept telling my little niece, “No, you don't need this. This is not the reason we are here. Focus, focus.” That is, until we got distracted.  It was quite humorous when she began to tell us to focus.

It’s easy to lose our focus during the holiday season. We get distracted with all the Christmas hype and turn our attention away from the reason we Christians emphasize this time of year. Isn't the first part of the word “Christmas” Christ? Sometimes we forget that.

In all of the extra bling we have added and are exposed to at this time of year, let’s spend a little time in focused thankfulness and worship.

Hebrews 12:2

Looking away from everything else, focus on Jesus,

the one who initiated and perfected our faith.

He focused on the future joy and blessing while He endured a death on the cross not giving a thought to the shame of the moment.

Now He is seated in a place of honor at the right hand of the throne of God.

I know we have to do a lot of things at Christmas but having to do a lot of things shouldn't consume us. We have to decorate our houses. We have to buy the gifts. We have to bake the goodies. We have to learn the music for the Christmas cantatas. We have to make the costumes for our children’s nativity programs.  We have to visit the relatives. And all this is added to our already busy daily schedules.

But for a moment, let’s look away from all of this and look to Jesus. He is the “reason for the season” (I wasn't going to fall into the overused phrase trap but there it is. I did.) He is the originator, and founder of our very faith. He continues to make us into His completed and acceptable and perfected ones.

We can take our flawed messed up selves and stand before God unflawed and faultless because of Christ. Now that makes me want to say, “Merry Christmas to all!”

I'll be telling myself the very thing I told my little niece this Christmas time.

No, I don't need this. I need Christ.

This is not the reason I am here. He is the reason I'm here.

Focus.

 Focus.