Tip of My Iceberg

photo courtesy of Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Less than two weeks from now, Christmas will be upon us. Carols and songs celebrating the season have been playing for a month. Blow-up Santas, Rudolphs, Yetis, and Grinches are sprinkled around the streets surrounding our neighborhood. Living in Florida, we have fake snow at a variety of locations that don’t come close to the real things.

The lights, however, are spectacular.

As a family, we’ve had traditions that have provided wonderful memories. Though we didn’t decorate outdoors, one of the things we loved to do was drive around areas known for their light spectacles and enjoy what others created.

Then we’d go to 7-Eleven for their frozen concoctions for our yearly brain freeze to put us in a holiday mood.

Christmas happens everywhere. It’s not dependent on weather, location, socioeconomic status, or whether a decorated tree is part of the picture.

It’s a historical event that centers around the birth of a Baby. Too many keep Jesus as a Baby and miss the gift He came to give.

Jesus was born in a small, unimpressive village, Bethlehem, at a time when His people, the Jews, were under Roman rule. There was unbelievable persecution, many were poor, and the political scene was uncomfortable at best. King Herod was terrified of any who threatened his power. He was brutal, cruel, and inflexible. When he heard of the arrival of a newborn King from three Magi who were traveling to see Him, Herod ordered all boy babies under two years of age to be killed.

He wasn’t taking any chances.

Joseph had been warned by an angel of Herod’s plan, so he took the family to Egypt.

There were no lights other than a star that lit the night sky and intrigued three scholars looking for a promised King. There were no gifts except what these men brought, gifts that reflected who Jesus was–gold to reflect His kingship, frankincense as a symbol of His deity, and myrrh, an embalming oil, a symbol of the death He was born to experience for us.

We focus so much on the dazzle of the season, with gifts, lights, and fun, that there’s little time to reflect on the true reason for the celebration of Christmas. Not just a Baby in a manger, but a Savior who came to give His life for us so we may have a future and hope.

Maybe it’s time to rethink the crazy of the season.

Maybe it’s time to remember what Christmas is supposed to look like.