by Dale Reeves
Story Pastor
This past Sunday at Christ’s Church, our lead pastor Brad Wilson began a Christmas teaching series called, “Home for the Holidays.” Last weekend Brad spoke about the fact that as a baby Jesus Christ entered a world that had no room for him in the inn, yet he came to make room for all of us. The prophet Isaiah said he would be named “Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14), which is a Hebrew name that translates to “God with us.” It was all part of God’s plan from the foundations of the earth for his Son to come to Earth in humility—born in obscurity, wrapped in simplicity, placed in a manger—a feeding trough for animals. God came to the margins so that no one would be left out. His presence among us should evoke comfort, hope, and the sense that we are never alone in this world.
In his teaching last week, Brad said, “Even when we had no room for Jesus, he made room for us.” He quoted from John 1:10-12, “He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God” (NLT). In case you missed Brad’s message last Sunday, you can check it out here.
All About Ornaments
Brad concluded the message last week by challenging all who were there to make room in their hearts, in their homes, and in their lives not only for Jesus, but for those who may feel “left out” this Christmas. We live in a culture that pressures us into crowded schedules, full houses, and busy hearts and minds working overtime to cram everything we think we have to do—yet Jesus still enters and calls us to come away in solitude with him.
Last Sunday after our corporate worship experience, I went home contemplating this thought about the need to make room in my life for Jesus and for those who feel left out. And, I found myself gazing at our family Christmas tree in our family room. Here was my thought this week:
“Is Jesus just one of my many ornaments on our tree, or is he the central figure in my life?”
Let me explain. In our house, we have several different categories of ornaments that we hang on our tree every year during the Christmas season.
—There are the “Shiny Brite” ornaments originally produced in the United States from 1937 to the 1960s. These beautiful vintage glass ornaments were originally created by a German immigrant and the Corning Glass Company. I don’t touch those ornaments if I can help it; I only want my wife to handle those and hang them because I do not want to break them.
—There are the family ornaments we have amassed in forty years of marriage. These include our daughters’ salt-dough ornaments of Christmas trees, angels, a mouse, and a snowman that they made in elementary school, and every year our younger daughter makes fun of our older daughter’s ornaments because of the vast difference in artistic ability they had as kids. We also have about ten years of family ornaments we bought at the Big Tree Plantation, where we used to go and buy a live tree every year.
—There are over 70 travel ornaments that my wife and I have collected from our traveling in our country and abroad. Every year when we hang the ornaments on the trees, we love revisiting our trips by enjoying the wooden and metal ornaments from a number of our National Parks; Walt Disney animated characters acquired on trips to Florida to visit the Mouse; glass ball ornaments from places like Gettysburg, Niagara Falls, Alaska, Jamaica, Rome, and Vienna; numerous lighthouses, lobster traps, and moose from the northeast; and some magnets and keychains turned into ornaments, including our recent trip to Ephesus and Istanbul, Turkey.
—There are the hodgepodge of ornaments that were inherited from our parents, have been gifted to us, or ones we just couldn’t get rid of. Some of those go on the back of the tree, and some, like our “first Christmas” together, still need a place of prominence every year.
Crowded Spaces
As our grandkids have gotten a bit older, we asked them if they wanted to help decorate our tree this year. As Karen unwrapped each ornament from the red and green bins and placed them on the kitchen table, the kids naturally grabbed the ornaments they knew first—those with a connection to Disney World, Sesame Street, or our loving schnauzer Daisy who is no longer with us. And, guess where they hung them? Front and center, several ornaments crowding each other in a clump on the same branch.
After our grandkids left our house and went to their own home, I spent some time moving some of the ornaments to the back of the tree, placing them higher on the tree, or to a lonely branch that needed an ornament. As my wife and I finished the decorating a few days later, I would often say to Karen, “I don’t see where else I can hang this one. Do you see any open spots?” And, she would always have an eye for a place where it would be perfect.
After stepping back and marveling at our collective work in decorating our tree this year, and after hearing Brad’s message last Sunday, I am left with this question still in my head: “Is Jesus just one of my many ornaments on our tree, or is he the central figure in my life?”
Another category of ornaments consists of those that have been broken, and in need of a super-glue repair before being hung on the tree once again. These ornaments might represent all the people in our lives that I know have been broken in some way but felt God’s hand of healing and redemption come into their lives. At the end of the day, we all are those broken-but-put-back-together ornaments because of the power of Jesus in our lives.
Brad concluded his message last Sunday by making this statement that has stuck with me:
“The church looks most like Christmas when we make space for our One Mores!”
I’m praying this Christmas season that you, along with me, will make space, and find room for Jesus in your heart and life, and that we will be Jesus’ hands and feet to those whom God places in our pathways. May this be your prayer:
“But in Bethlehem’s home was there found no room
For Thy holy nativity;
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee.”
—Emily Elliott, 1864