Our Christmas Crosses

Happy December 1st! Happy birthday, Lord Jesus! What a joy, what a privilege it is to celebrate His birth every year. How I need it-- how we all need it! We tend to get so preoccupied and overwhelmed with all we have to do that we (okay, I) forget the incredible wonder, the sheer joyousness, the pure excitement of rejoicing in His Coming... and coming as a baby! Who would have thought of such a plan? Only God!

I woke this morning to discover that my wreaths from Young Life had been delivered to my front doorstep. Now, these are special wreaths--first of all, they were made somewhere in the mountains and have a wonderful wild, overflowing lushness to them. Sort of hard to explain, but take my word for it. Secondly, they are BIG--way bigger than I had anticipated! And third, they are crosses.

Christmas crosses. How I need that reminder every time I drive up to my house after rushing about picking up carpools or buying groceries: it's all about Jesus, His joyous birth at Bethlehem and His saving sacrifice at Calvary. It's about Christmas and the Almighty, all Sovereign, all powerful, all knowing, all holy Lord of the universe entering time and space to come down to this little planet spinning in His far flung heavens. Christmas, when the glorious, ineffable Creator and Sustainer of every living person and creature on this earth, determined to lay aside His infinite glory and honor to become a helpless infant in a obscure nation, in a dirty stable, surrounded by smelly animals. What an inscrutable wonder!

But it's not just about Christmas... it's all about the Cross. The baby born to die. I have always loved the words from Bejamin Britten's Ceremony of Carols: "This little babe, so few days old, has come to rifle satan's fold. All hell doth at, His presence quake, though He Himself for cold do shake. For in this weak unarmed wise, the gates of hell He will surprise." For satan and sin and death and hell, this little baby's entrance into the world marked the beginning of the end. Their doom was sealed, for one day, this Lord surrounded by infant's flesh would go to a cross to die for our sins. All sin--past, present, and future--crucified on His cross, our cross. O thank You Lord Jesus for every drop of blood that flowed that should have been mine. That blood that washed away the power of sin and death.

O what a joyful beginning that we celebrate at Christmas. But what a miraculous, perfect, glorious ending--the Cross and the resurrection--that saved us... and so we worship. The Christmas Cross--celebrate and worship with a heart overflowing with gratitude and joy.

But I have to add one more thing: when I went to look at my crosses this morning, I immediately worried that while their size would be great for the front door, it would be far too large for our back kitchen door (the one we always use, frankly). I carried it back and put it on the small kitchen door, and it literally covered the whole window in the top half of the door. In fact, I had a hard time even shutting the door because of the cross' size. I pondered this a while, wondering how I was going to make this work.

And then it hit me--does that reflect me as a believer? Do I simply reflect all the outward trappings and profession of a believer--got that nice big cross on the front door of my life. He is a big part of my life. But is He all? What about the back door of my life? What about my thoughts of selfishness or pride? My lack of love, my refusal to obey Him in all things, my tendency to seek my will and not His, my desire for glory or comfort? All those things that others may not see, but God does. How about even at Christmas--my desire to purchase all the presents, send out the cards, take care of me and mine, but failing to truly love those He died to save or failing to daily keep Him and His Christmas cross at the center of my thoughts and heart every single day during Christmas? How am I diminishing the greatness of the cross?

Forgive me Lord Jesus. Your Christmas cross needs to be just as large and great and glorious at the back door of my life as at the front. Just as prominent in my thoughts and attitudes as in my words and activities.

It truly is all about the cross. So this Christmas, if you come by my house and can barely get the back door open, rejoice with me at the BIG beautiful Christmas cross! At the front door and the back... the beginning and the end... the start of our days till our very last breath. Happy birthday Lord Jesus. And thank You thank You thank You for the cross. Might it always be gigantic, great, and glorious in our lives. To our Savior be all the glory.