Giving God Our Time
Caleb Garrison
“And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” Matthew 2:11
Christmas can be one of the busiest times of the year. We have countless Christmas parties, mile-long lists of gifts we need to shop for, school performances that just seem to last far too long, church functions, out-of-town relatives visiting, and so much more. If we are, to be honest, in the business of Christmas, we can lose focus on the true beauty of this holiday season. I remember when I was a kid and the excitement I had as I thought of Christmas time; all of my family under the same roof, presents, yummy food, and that beautiful layer of white snow outside my window. Now if I am being honest, I can find myself in moments around Christmas, dreading it. It can lose its wonder in the chaos. My mind begins to race as I think of all that needs to be done, the events that still need to be attended, and the overwhelming urge to outgive my family with the best gifts (am I the only one that is competitive about gift-giving?).
Yet, this is not what God has in mind for us to feel as we celebrate the birth of Jesus. It is supposed to be a season of glad tidings and joy. God became flesh and bone, born in a manager, Emmanuel - God with us. Why can we find ourselves in a panic, instead of feeling zealous joy? I wonder if some of it comes from our priorities during the Christmas season. It can seem like God gets the scraps during the month of December. We get too busy with “this or that” to slow down long enough to spend time reflecting on the beautiful truth of Christmas. Even worse, we can become too busy with our daily schedule to spend time with Him. Our days become so full from morning to evening that we barely have time to eat lunch, let alone sit down long enough to spend time with our Creator. Time is our greatest currency and it is being fully spent on everything besides our dearest treasure, Jesus. In this busy season, I wonder if what God wants more than anything else from us, is our time. We give time and make space for the things we love. I love playing video games in the evening; I will sacrifice an hour or two of sleep every night just so I can play. The sacrifice is worth the reward. Is the reward of Jesus worth the sacrifice of time?
Every year at Christmas, we hear about the wise men and their gifts of gold, myrrh, and frankincense. However, do we ever think about the gift of their time? How long did the trip take? How long did they stay? The gift of time is all too often overlooked.
I wonder if our dearest form of worship in such a busy time is to slow down enough to spend time with God. In fact, I think the greatest thing we could do in such a busy and overwhelming season, is to spend time with Jesus. I once heard someone say, I try to spend at least an hour with God every morning, but when I have a super busy day, I spend two hours with Him. Instead of God being a task or chore that can be postponed until tomorrow, we sometimes need to remind ourselves that God is our rock, our constan;, and in every season we can find refuge in Him and Him alone. Here is what I keep reminding myself of in this busy season, “God is not after my gifts of gold and myrrh, but something much greater - my heart. He desires my full love and devotion to Him, and that involves me making space to spend with him.” Make room for Jesus this Christmas, find yourself with Him often, it is far better than anything this world has ever and will ever be able to offer.
Caleb Garrison
“And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” Matthew 2:11
Christmas can be one of the busiest times of the year. We have countless Christmas parties, mile-long lists of gifts we need to shop for, school performances that just seem to last far too long, church functions, out-of-town relatives visiting, and so much more. If we are, to be honest, in the business of Christmas, we can lose focus on the true beauty of this holiday season. I remember when I was a kid and the excitement I had as I thought of Christmas time; all of my family under the same roof, presents, yummy food, and that beautiful layer of white snow outside my window. Now if I am being honest, I can find myself in moments around Christmas, dreading it. It can lose its wonder in the chaos. My mind begins to race as I think of all that needs to be done, the events that still need to be attended, and the overwhelming urge to outgive my family with the best gifts (am I the only one that is competitive about gift-giving?).
Yet, this is not what God has in mind for us to feel as we celebrate the birth of Jesus. It is supposed to be a season of glad tidings and joy. God became flesh and bone, born in a manager, Emmanuel - God with us. Why can we find ourselves in a panic, instead of feeling zealous joy? I wonder if some of it comes from our priorities during the Christmas season. It can seem like God gets the scraps during the month of December. We get too busy with “this or that” to slow down long enough to spend time reflecting on the beautiful truth of Christmas. Even worse, we can become too busy with our daily schedule to spend time with Him. Our days become so full from morning to evening that we barely have time to eat lunch, let alone sit down long enough to spend time with our Creator. Time is our greatest currency and it is being fully spent on everything besides our dearest treasure, Jesus. In this busy season, I wonder if what God wants more than anything else from us, is our time. We give time and make space for the things we love. I love playing video games in the evening; I will sacrifice an hour or two of sleep every night just so I can play. The sacrifice is worth the reward. Is the reward of Jesus worth the sacrifice of time?
Every year at Christmas, we hear about the wise men and their gifts of gold, myrrh, and frankincense. However, do we ever think about the gift of their time? How long did the trip take? How long did they stay? The gift of time is all too often overlooked.
I wonder if our dearest form of worship in such a busy time is to slow down enough to spend time with God. In fact, I think the greatest thing we could do in such a busy and overwhelming season, is to spend time with Jesus. I once heard someone say, I try to spend at least an hour with God every morning, but when I have a super busy day, I spend two hours with Him. Instead of God being a task or chore that can be postponed until tomorrow, we sometimes need to remind ourselves that God is our rock, our constan;, and in every season we can find refuge in Him and Him alone. Here is what I keep reminding myself of in this busy season, “God is not after my gifts of gold and myrrh, but something much greater - my heart. He desires my full love and devotion to Him, and that involves me making space to spend with him.” Make room for Jesus this Christmas, find yourself with Him often, it is far better than anything this world has ever and will ever be able to offer.
Posted in Company at Christmas
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