"Be heavenly minded." Let's be honest. Being heavenly minded is not a character trait we tend to like. We like people who are grounded. Realists. People who keep their heads out of the clouds. Why? Well, if eternity is a reality then it makes no sense to shrink our life and our identity down to the needs and wants of this little moment we have called life.
How was your 2016? What happened? How did it go? It seems like the consensus on social media is that 2016 was full of painful moments. But many of us welcomed children and grandchildren while others celebrated wedding days and anniversaries. How do we remember the year? Well, ask yourself this question: what did God do? Consider how God might have been present in both the good times and the bad. And how might we live differently this new year if God was at the forefront of our minds?
One of the things that makes Christmas so distinct is the tradition of gift-giving. There are many holidays throughout the year that we celebrate, but Christmas is the only one during which we give gifts. And we don't tell each other what we're getting for each other. We wrap it. Put it under the tree. Wait till Christmas morning. Give our family and friends something special. And that is what the Christmas story is. The Savior didn't just come. He was given.
It's easy for Christmas to become irrelevant. Let's be real—life doesn't turn out like we want it to. Our expectations aren't met. We didn't get to see the people we wanted to see. This time of year really has a way of revealing all of our deepest fears and insecurities. If we're not careful, we allow Christmas to become plastic, and we let the season just be a story. We miss out on the reality that it is meaningful, there is a purpose and God wants to do something in our lives.
Watch, download or listen to Heaven Opens to hear more.
We're in a season where the real reason we are celebrating becomes meaningless. You go to Christmas services. You attend office Christmas parties. You sing Christmas carols. You take time off of work. You shop for presents. We're so distracted by all the things we have to do that we end up settling for too little because the meaning of Christmas is inexhaustible.
We all have done profoundly stupid things. And we wonder afterwards, what were we thinking? Ask yourself this: what motivated you to do it? We often want to manage our image that brings us favor in other people's eyes. We put them on a seat of judgment that gives them the power to give us value, like this could somehow fill the hole in our hearts that longs for approval. Why do we let people sit on the seat we know belongs to the One who loves us most?
Watch, download or listen to Who Is Sitting Where to hear more.
It's always been said that hindsight is 20/20. We always know the right decision after we've already made the wrong one. We know what we should have done after the opportunity is already passed. But we don't get to go backwards in life. We don't get do-overs, so we end up feeling regret over missed opportunities and mistakes. Why do we miss opportunities? Why do we make mistakes? Well, ask yourself this question: what is your focus in life?
