All I Want for Christmas...
Six-year-old Ellie tip-toed up to reach the mailbox, straining to slip her letter in the slot. The address read:
Santa Claus
North Pole
Inside was her Christmas list. What wasn’t written on the letter were her hopes of finding each gift underneath the tree.
“Dear Santa,
I have been a good girl this year. all I want for Christmas is a baby doll, a scooter, and a ipad.
I left you cookies and milk. and a carrot for Rudolph.
thank you. merry Christmas, ellie”
An iPad...a sign of the times!
I have a Christmas list too, but you won’t find them on Amazon or Etsy. You won’t find these at a store at the mall.
It’s a “wish list” of attitudes of the heart modeled by the key players in the story of that first Christmas.
Let’s begin with MARY, JESUS’ MOTHER…
There are many things we could say about Mary’s heart…she had a heart of faith, a heart of courage, a heart of worship. But two attitudes of her heart that I have on my Christmas list are humility and obedience.
Remember when Gabriel came to her and made the incredible announcement that she had been chosen to bear the Son of God (Luke 1:26-33)?
She wondered. How can this be? I’ve never even kissed a man, much less been with one! I’m just an ordinary girl. I’m not of royal heritage. How can it be that Almighty God has chosen me?
Her question was very different from Zechariah’s when Gabriel announced his wife would become pregnant. His question stemmed from unbelief, and he was silenced for 9 months. Mary’s question reflected her faith in God and His ability to do anything. She gave birth to the Savior.
Dire consequences could result from this angelic encounter, yet her heart attitudes of humility and obedience were evident in her response:
Behold the handmaiden of the Lord! Her humble heart.
Let it be to me according to your word! Her obedient heart.
So, at the top of my Christmas list is the heart attitude Mary had. Lord, help me to continually humble myself before you and yield my life to Your desire and purpose.
JOSEPH
Think of how the news of Mary’s pregnancy must have torn rocked Joseph’s world.
His beloved Mary. She seemed so pure, yet it appeared she had fallen into sin.
He had trusted her. What was he to do?
He could have had her put to death for adultery. But instead, he planned to just put her away secretly, not wanting to make her a public example (Matt. 1:19).
He, too, had a visitor from heaven. It must have been hard to believe the messenger’s explanation of his betrothed’s pregnancy. But he believed and trusted – both God and Mary. He had a heart attitude of trust and acceptance, seasoned with love and grace.
Next on my Christmas list is a heart attitude like Joseph’s: trusting acceptance, believing God at His word. Lord, help me look beyond the surface circumstances and respond with love and care.
ELIZABETH
Topping Elizabeth’s Christmas list would have been a baby of her own. Long past the child-bearing age, this righteous woman grieved over the barrenness of her womb. She must have waited and wondered, as most Jewish women of that time, if she might have the honor of bearing the Messiah.
God intervenes and she does conceive…but it is not THE Child.
When her cousin Mary visited, she instantly knew Mary had been chosen to be the mother of the Messiah.
Did she grumble or complain, “Why not me? I’m older, have served God longer, have kept His commandments. It should have been me.”
No, she responded with praise and deep humility (Luke 1:42-45).
Elizabeth demonstrated a heart attitude of contentment and gratitude.
My list needs an Elizabeth heart attitude: one that is satisfied with who I am and what I have. Lord, help me rejoice with those who rejoice, even when the blessings they are experiencing are ones my heart longs for.
THE SHEPHERDS
Minding their own business and their sheep, an angel came to them with the biggest news of all: The Savior has been born this day in Bethlehem. Awe and wonder filled their hearts! A heavenly host appeared singing God’s praise (Luke 2:8-16).
Filled with wonder, they responded. They dropped everything to go and see this “God-happening” in Bethlehem. What if the shepherds had just been blessed by the “light show,” but kept on tending their sheep? It was late, after all.
They would have missed the most critical turning point in all of history.
This Christmas, may I not miss the wonder of the Bethlehem miracle. A baby, born in a manger, Who came to save me. Lord, may I have a responsive, wonder-filled heart like the shepherds. Let me be willing to turn aside from the busyness to see the miracle in the midst of my everyday life.
And finally, the WISE MEN
Matthew 2 tells us Wise Men had seen His star and traveled to Bethlehem to worship Him who was born King of the Jews. The Magi were considered spiritual advisors and served the king. They studied the stars and the heavens and understood the significance of the new star that appeared in the night sky.
Traveling a great distance, they came to worship the newborn King (Matt. 2:11). They fell down before Him and worshipped with the very best they had: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
The final item on my Christmas list is a heart attitude like the Wise Men had. Lord, I want to worship You with the very best I have to give – my whole heart. You are worthy of nothing less.
I think my Christmas list is complete:
Humility and obedience
Trusting acceptance
Contentment and gratitude
Wonder-filled response
Worship.
So may I ask….