Many today are celebrating Christmas.
But who amongst the celebrants of today really understand in the right way, the
Person who is the reason for the season?
For the sake of brevity, let us take
just three examples of this lack of understanding as there are many examples in
fact:
1. Do
you still use His Name in jest and in the jokes you share on social media? One joke
has even gone viral recently that says that you do not need to rush home for Christmas
as He “was not born in your village”. Really?
If you can utter this or anything similar and even have the effrontery
to share this with the public, realise from now that you are taking the Name of
Christ in vain. The Commandment recorded
for us in Exodus 20:7 “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in
vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain”
may well apply to the Name of the Son of God! With a deep understanding of who
He is we will not engage in such jokes or other loose talk that calls His Name
at every drop of the hat. If we have been doing so, we will hopefully desist
from now on for our own good.
2.Do
you still see Jesus as your servant who should serve to fulfill your wishes
once you ask Him by the method of the long shopping lists and the outright demands
you call prayer? You will say afterwards that He has granted your prayers yet
what you really are saying deep in your heart is that He has served your ends. You
clearly betray your arrogance sometimes when you say it openly that you hereby
“decree”, “command” and “claim”! Yes, some even misquote scripture and maintain
stubbornly that they can command even the Almighty! Amazing, incredible and sad!
With a deep understanding of who He is you will certainly realise that you are
meant to subject your decisions to His Will and not the other way round. Let us
always remember the great prayer point given to us by Him which is recorded for
us in Matthew 6:10 as follows: “Thy will
be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”
3. Do
you still demand that He should remove the consequences of your past wrong
decisions which have now come to haunt you? Do you still challenge Him to prove
Himself and His power to you by removing your problems? This attitude is
exactly the attitude displayed by the robber on His left while on the cross who
said: “Are you not the Christ? “Save yourself and us!” However, a better
example of a person who understands Jesus and His Teachings is that robber on
His right who admitted to himself before all that “We are punished justly, for
we are receiving what we deserve for our actions. But this man has done nothing
wrong.” He then followed with the plea akin to what Jesus Himself has taught us
about seeking the Lord’s Kingdom first. He eventually got the reward of a place
in Paradise! (Luke 23:39-42)
Let us utilize this very special
and very meaningful season to rethink what we have been taught about Christ and
what we have believed up till now about Him. Let us prayerfully seek to
understand our Saviour the way He really is! May we have the courage to seek in
the right way and decide to serve the Truth only, leaving behind us the false
teachings promoted by men for their own material advantages.
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