The Ghost of Christmas Present
“Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”—Romans 12:13 (ESV)
In A Christmas Carol, on the night before Christmas, three ghosts appear to the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, urging him to repent of his greedy ways. The first spirit to appear was the Ghost of Christmas Past and the second was the Ghost of Christmas Present. The Ghost of Christmas Present is portrayed as a robust giant figure with dark brown curls wearing a wreath on his head and a large green robe. He takes Scrooge on a journey around the world as it is now with all of its feasting and celebrating, and reveals to him all of the sorrow and sadness that could be stopped. The Ghost of Christmas present is a reminder to all of us that we can become so wrapped up in ourselves that we forget to pay attention to those around us.
The scripture for today teaches us to “contribute to the needs of the saints.” As believers we are to give to others because God gave to us. We give because He gave, and our giving to others demonstrates our relationship with God. We have this tendency to think that the Christian life is about our needs. We want safety. We want security. And we want pleasure. The only problem is when we make that a priority, we give no thoughts to the needs of others. That’s why the apostle John put it this way, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen”—1 John 4:20 (ESV).
John clearly understood that our lives are most Christlike when we are living for others. And in our passage for today, the apostle Paul is telling us to “Contribute to the needs of the saints.” He means this: If you know of a Christian brother or sister in need, then help out. It could be in a myriad of different ways. It could be financially; it could be physically, such as cleaning someone’s home, or shoveling their snow. It may be practically, such as taking people to the hospital when they can’t drive themselves. It may be opening up your home this Christmas. Don’t think that Christmas is just about celebrating with your family. It’s not. Paul said, “seek to show hospitality.” The wording here doesn’t mean have your friends over for eggnog and a game of Twister or a Bowl game. It means showing love to strangers. It means opening up your home so that they too may experience the love of Christ through you.
Christmas is about sharing the love of Christ with the unlovely, the unlikable, and those that can’t help themselves. It’s about taking care of the dirty, the smelly, and sometimes, the dangerous. It’s not about Norman Rockwell and his vision of Americana. Norman Rockwell couldn’t paint the reality of Bethlehem. It’s about a smelly dirty room with stinky animals and a teenage mother giving birth in the lowliest conditions. It’s about God having mercy upon us and reaching out to us when we were dirty and vile. Christmas is about getting over ourselves and looking out for others. What do we give? We give ourselves. We don’t give a portion; we give everything. Jesus demands it all. He gave Himself and we give ourselves too. So, let’s take off the blinders of self and our own wants and needs, in order to see the world around us in all of its joy and sorrow, giving to others this Christmas season out of the depth of love in our hearts because God first gave to us. Amen.
In A Christmas Carol, on the night before Christmas, three ghosts appear to the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, urging him to repent of his greedy ways. The first spirit to appear was the Ghost of Christmas Past and the second was the Ghost of Christmas Present. The Ghost of Christmas Present is portrayed as a robust giant figure with dark brown curls wearing a wreath on his head and a large green robe. He takes Scrooge on a journey around the world as it is now with all of its feasting and celebrating, and reveals to him all of the sorrow and sadness that could be stopped. The Ghost of Christmas present is a reminder to all of us that we can become so wrapped up in ourselves that we forget to pay attention to those around us.
The scripture for today teaches us to “contribute to the needs of the saints.” As believers we are to give to others because God gave to us. We give because He gave, and our giving to others demonstrates our relationship with God. We have this tendency to think that the Christian life is about our needs. We want safety. We want security. And we want pleasure. The only problem is when we make that a priority, we give no thoughts to the needs of others. That’s why the apostle John put it this way, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen”—1 John 4:20 (ESV).
John clearly understood that our lives are most Christlike when we are living for others. And in our passage for today, the apostle Paul is telling us to “Contribute to the needs of the saints.” He means this: If you know of a Christian brother or sister in need, then help out. It could be in a myriad of different ways. It could be financially; it could be physically, such as cleaning someone’s home, or shoveling their snow. It may be practically, such as taking people to the hospital when they can’t drive themselves. It may be opening up your home this Christmas. Don’t think that Christmas is just about celebrating with your family. It’s not. Paul said, “seek to show hospitality.” The wording here doesn’t mean have your friends over for eggnog and a game of Twister or a Bowl game. It means showing love to strangers. It means opening up your home so that they too may experience the love of Christ through you.
Christmas is about sharing the love of Christ with the unlovely, the unlikable, and those that can’t help themselves. It’s about taking care of the dirty, the smelly, and sometimes, the dangerous. It’s not about Norman Rockwell and his vision of Americana. Norman Rockwell couldn’t paint the reality of Bethlehem. It’s about a smelly dirty room with stinky animals and a teenage mother giving birth in the lowliest conditions. It’s about God having mercy upon us and reaching out to us when we were dirty and vile. Christmas is about getting over ourselves and looking out for others. What do we give? We give ourselves. We don’t give a portion; we give everything. Jesus demands it all. He gave Himself and we give ourselves too. So, let’s take off the blinders of self and our own wants and needs, in order to see the world around us in all of its joy and sorrow, giving to others this Christmas season out of the depth of love in our hearts because God first gave to us. Amen.
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