Resolutions

The turning of a new year is a strange phenomenon. A random calendar date causes us to look forward and back: to evaluate who we are, where we’ve been and what we would like to see change in the future. Resolutions are made and new ventures are pursued based on the psychology of the marking of time. His mercies are new every morning…what if we approached each day with the Lord as though it were New Year’s Day? I have my resolutions for this year and for today.

Emmanuel

“I love Jesus, I just hate Christmas,” he said. I thought about it and replied, “I guess the two have become separate.” Later I pondered how the coming of God to live among us, to be one of us so that He could explain, reveal and embody His love to us…how can that get lost? What would Christmas look like if it didn’t become something else? If it were always and only about the mystery and celebration of God with us: Jesus?

Family

We sat in a circle, each having picked a present from under the tree. The presents were to be “from the heart” and for the group, something that revealed more of our heart. I unwrapped an old shoe, the last one shoe of Jimmy the paraplegic who is in my life group. He holds on to the shoe because it represents both the question “why?” and the grace and power of God. It was a powerful moment as the old shoe revealed more of Jimmy’s heart. One man played a song on a piano that hadn’t been played in years, because of his broken heart the music had died. He gave us a song as his gift and in turn we helped heal his broken heart. As the night concluded it was observed that “this is family, the most intimate Christmas we might hope to experience.” The only thing we have in common is Jesus and a commitment to one another.

Surprise

For over a year I’ve been planning my wife’s surprise party where I asked all of her friends who were able to surprise her on a cruise. A close friend assisted me in the ruse and invited Jody to go on the trip as though it would be just the two of them. I feigned disappointment as though the friend had stole my opportunity to do anything for her birthday and so I would just throw a small party the night before they left. Ironically, her friend’s husband contracted meningitis the night before the big trip and Jody felt for sure the trip would be postponed. That’s when I had to spill the beans that in fact it was a surprise I had been working on for a year. Who would have imagined that our close friend would contract meningitis the night before sailing? We often times make our plans very carefully and yet God is the author of them down to the details. We can live in disappointment or we can anticipate his unique design. Sometimes the biggest detail we fail to account for is Him.

Excuses

A few of us were gathering to ride and one of mine friends was complaining about his bike, another was complaining about his hamstring and how he didn’t know if he could make it. Though I didn’t say anything I was wondering how I’d do in a group ride because I hadn’t been on a road bike in some time. Then Danny rolls up. Danny fractured his c 7 vertebrae 8 weeks ago and hasn’t ridden in those 8 weeks. Without a complaint or excuse he pulls up and heads out for 40 miles and even got out front in the wind when it was his turn to pull. Toward the end of the ride, when he was clearly fading, he never complained or made an excuse. There are so many reasons we can’t, we can come up with them to justify our underachieving or self-interested ways. Then there are those subtle reminders that our wills are simply not robustly aligned with His. What’s your excuse?

The Word

The unexpected Word of God is a profound blow to the soul. We are often numb to the beauty of the Word chiefly because we assume we know what it says. In doing so we drowned out the voice of the Spirit bidding us to come and listen. We are often shocked when we have it thrust upon us in the light of unexpected illumination. How changed might we be if we assumed we knew less and hungered and craved for more of Him revealed?

Love

The decorations are out already and the bells are ringing at the Wal-Mart. My list is shorter this year. The party invites are coming in. The parties I'm hosting are already arranged and I'm actually starting to work on the Christmas letter that will need to go out soon. It's not about any of this of course, they are all symptoms or expressions of what when I analyze it, think about it or just quietly meditate turns out to be plainly "Love." It's not a Hollywood, juvenile or cotton candy "pop" love. It's the climb any mountain, sail across the stormy seas, drive all night, lay down my life kind of love that leaves you breathless and broken. When the expression or the 'symptom' if you will no longer leads you to the source then it's time to reframe the expression. I'm not talking dispensing with Christmas, just centering it as Christ Mas. Gifts are nice if they are the reflection of love, songs are nice if they are love songs, parties are nice if they reflect adoring, loving community. Santa is nice too if he was a guy who lived out this radical love to others always anchored in the source. In the end it all comes down to love. Where every day is Christmas and every night is New Years Eve.