[Written by Theodore Woo]
Encouraged Scripture Reading: Luke 2:22-38
Well, I bet those of you who are reading this are still recovering from the food and festivities after spending time with loved ones and friends this past Christmas.
I had a great time this past Christmas, because I was able to finally celebrate the holiday with loved ones that I haven’t seen for awhile, as well as celebrating with new ones. It has been seven years since I was able to do that. Previously, I was living in Taiwan, and I celebrated Christmas over there; although it wasn’t too much of a celebration because I was working long hours at the time. Even though Christmas is recognized as a holiday over there, the atmosphere was just not the same. However, to be fair, I was able to celebrate it with some friends that I made over there, but we did it either a day later or the weekends. During that time, it made me realize how much I took Christmas for granted.
In the U.S., many Americans have gotten to the point where they get bored with Christmas, and have become embittered, because Christmas has been so commercialized. HOWEVER! As a Christian, if there is any encouragement that I can give to y’all, I would tell you that we should always get excited, and pumped up before, during, and after the Christmas celebration.
And here’s why:
If you take the time to read Luke 2:22-38, you would read the excitement, and the joy, that two people had when they saw Jesus after his birth. They both never saw His works, nor His death, but saw Him as an infant presented before God. We read the story of Simeon and Anna, one a priest, and the other a prophetess – both servants of the Lord. Simeon, the priest, was promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he saw the Lord’s Christ. Anna, according to Scripture, just so happened to be at the temple at that very hour when Jesus was presented at the temple. She bore witness to the Christ, gave thanks to God, and shared with everyone what she saw. She could not contain the excitement within her!
If we look at this record from both Simeon the priest and Anna the prophetess, they bore witness of the Savior when he was present with them and were thrilled to share with everyone what they saw, hence recorded in Luke’s gospel. Shouldn’t that be the same way with us?
I know the holiday, Christmas is done and over with, but that doesn’t mean that our excitement of the Christmas spirit should be done away with. In fact, it should continue to burn within us a passion to bear witness for our Savior who is now ruling in heaven, who is watching all over the earth because His kingdom is here, and is continuing to spread because of His word and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Let us continue to pray, be in fellowship, and witness to others in our community and all over the world, because the Savior came to earth to save us from the curse of sin. Let us go out and fulfill the Great Commission that our Lord commanded to His disciples, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:19-20, ESV).
