The Holiday Season can be very busy and stressful for us all. We try to fulfill all the things that remind us of the way we celebrated the Holidays in our families and the things that we want it to be to our children. All too easily the Christmas season that we desire, can get lost in the business of performing it. Therefore, it is best to look at what we really want to do to celebrate this time of year and evaluate if we are accomplishing our goals.
The truth is that every scholar will tell you that there is no definitive way to ascertain the exact date of the birth of our Savior. For reasons which are not relevant to our discussion, we have agreed to adopt this particular date, and celebrate this date as a tradition. Our thoughts turn to giving and to peace on earth, good will toward men.
I can’t help but recall a story in the Bible about Jesus feeding four thousand people with seven loaves of bread and a few fish. Matthew 15:32-38 – And Jesus called His disciples to Him, and said, “I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way.” The disciples said to Him, “Where would we get so many loaves in the desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd?” And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few small fish?” And He directed the people to sit down on the ground; and He took seven loaves and the fish; and giving thanks, He broke them and started giving them to the disciples, and the disciples gave then to the people. And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large baskets full. And those who ate were four thousand men, beside women and children.
We can easily conclude that when we hand things over to God, He can do the miraculous. In His hands, the seemingly small amount of bread and fish was sufficient to satisfy the hunger of many (we call it the feeding of the 4,000 but that was just the count on the men. There were also women and children). To accomplish the task of feeding so many from a natural, human approach would require much work and preparation and it is unlikely that it would have been so successful that there would have been food enough left over to fill seven large baskets. Likewise, when we put our holiday celebration into His hands, we will find a fullness that is unachievable by our natural laboring. Additionally, we can understand that even when successful, our greatest efforts can leave us feeling a little empty. My intrigue is peeked though by what the Lord had all of the people do. He had them sit down on the ground. I see this picture in my head of all these people suddenly becoming a group who are now dining together and sharing their wonderment of the things that they have seen and heard. They are now a people, a family that is sharing things in common, in fellowship with one another. The Lord who did these miracles is still there in their midst, but now they are sitting down and eating and socializing and even though Christ is still the main point of being there, they are now enjoying one another’s company and sharing the things that they hold in common, as the people of God. This is when the fullness comes in such abundance to cause overflowing. Enough left over to fill a basket to give to others. Maybe we could learn from this example and spend the holidays creating ways to simply be together in the presence of God. Blessings!
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