Sunday December 23, 1990

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What Will Christmas Cost You This Year?

Have you filled out your Christmas list this year? Have you gotten that

present for your mother, and what about your father, he is the hard one

to buy for. Did you get your tree, and put up the lights outside? All

ready for Christmas yet?

As I look back over my 30 years of Christmases, I always remember the

things I would forget to remember? There is so much to Christmas, and we

tend to get wrapped up in it, no pun intended.

Every year it was always monetary things first. Like how much is that

tree, how much can I spend on each person, do I have the money to go to

that dinner, Do we have enough money for the new lights, can I get the

reindeer that dances and plays a rendition of "Winter Wonderland"?

We get so busy we forget the real meaning of Christmas. I don't mean

Santa Claus, but the Birth of Jesus Christ. Many times over the

centuries people have tried to secularize Christmas, back to it's pagan

- More - [C]ontinue, [S]top, [N]onStop: n origins. But Christians have made this holiday, the celebration of

Christ's Birthday.

The spirit of Christmas is supposed to be giving. Now we all know that

means getting too, but in today's idea, giving means the kids watch the

commercials on TV and we run out to Toys R Us and buy the plastic junk

that will break or the parts will get lost by next Christmas. We also

have to get the obligational Uncle Charley's hankies each year, cause he

doesn't like anything anyway.

If we try to get back to the real meaning or spirit, we must define what

the "meaning of Christmas" really is. The best way is to go to God's

word.

The Bible tells that the most important commandment of all is for us to

love God first and foremost. The second most important rule is to love

your neighbor. If we take this principle of every day living and apply

it to Christmas, the birth of Christ, the first thing we should always

remember is to love God first, then everyone around us. (Matt 22:37-40)

The next step is a little harder. Love your neighbor. Hmm. Now I know

you don't have problems with this one, I do, but you probably never

struggle with this one. (grin)

Since the word "love" is in both commandments to us, it is obvious that

what Jesus is expressing is very important. Paul writes a beautiful

passage in I Corinthians 13 about what love is and is not. "...Love is

patient, love is kind, it does not envy, boast, or is not proud, it

keeps no record of wrongs..." and it goes on. Now we have an idea of

what love is according to the Bible, and that Jesus commands us to love

him, and our neighbor. Just who is our neighbor? The Pharisees asked

that same question of Jesus and His response was with the following

parable or story:

"A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the

hands of robbers. They Stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went

away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same

road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a

Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other

side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when

he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds,

pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him

to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver

coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and

when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell

into the hands of robbers?"

The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."

Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." (Luke 10:30)

The story speaks for itself, and I don't have to do a bunch of

spiritualizing or religious talk to explain the parable, but a few

simple points can be made:

We as Christians can be going to church, listening to Chuck Smith or

Billy Graham 24 hours a day on a walkman, saying "Praise the Lord" or

"PTL" all day long, and still walk right past Jesus, and not even see

him. In fact we almost step on him sitting on the ground outside the

stores. What? Read on.

In talking with his disciples on the Mount of Olives, before his death,

Jesus was telling them about 1) the end of the age, 2) The destruction

of Jerusalem, and 3) Christ's coming. (Matthew 4-14, 15-22, 23-31)

In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus describes the judgement on the righteous

(sheep) and the unrighteous (goats). He will be like a shepherd, putting

the sheep on the right, and the goats on the left. To the sheep he will

say the following:

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and

you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,

I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me,

I was in prison and you came to visit me."

"Then the righteous will answer him, Lord when did we see you hungry and

feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see

you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?

When did we see you sick or in prison and go visit you?"

"The king will reply, I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of

the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

"Then he will say to those on his left (unrighteous), Depart from me,

you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his

angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty

and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not

invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and

in prison and you did not look after me."

"They also will answer, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a

stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?

"He will reply, I tell you the truth, whatever you did NOT do for one of

the least of these, you did not do for me."

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to

eternal life."

We have seen that obviously we must love God first and others

(neighbors) next. But Jesus even goes a step further in Matthew and says

that the "least of these" or the poor, are just like him, so as

Christians we must love the "least" as we love our Lord and Savior,

Jesus Christ.

My prayer for us during the hectic holiday season:

When you are out shopping in the next few weeks, buying presents or

groceries and some young dirty looking couple want to wash your window,

for anything you are willing to give them, why not stop a minute and

talk with them. Why not stop putting your groceries away, open the bags

up and give them some food you just bought for yourself. You don't have

to give them money, but go buy them some chicken at Pioneer, or a

sandwich at the Subway.

Whatever you do, pray that the Lord will show you this Season, what you

can give back for all the blessings you have, the house, transportation,

family, job and more. If you give back a tenth of the love that Jesus

has for you, blessings will be great. But just think if you did it for

the Lord, just because you love him, not because you want any blessings.

How much can that Christmas gift cost? You will never know unless you

take that step in faith. Remember that Jesus spent His life for you and

I, and He only asks for love.

Choicest Blessings,

Paul Aziz

The Lord's Board

All Scriptures quoted are from the New International Version of the Holy

Bible, Zondervan

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