Thankful

The day after. Presents are all unwrapped. Recycling is in waiting. Meals have been prepared, eaten and enjoyed. A few more days of rest and relaxation. Breaking in new slippers. Re-reading the story of the Incarnation and the birth of the Son. Sitting in my office and contemplating what the meaning of this year’s Christmas means and implies. Wading through all the theological language and meta-physical explanations I take some time to simply reflect. In my mind’s eye I am coming to the stable. The smell of animals and shepherds are beginning to become too much, yet I slowly continue towards the source. It is night yet there seems to be a strange glow surrounding us. It’s almost like the darkness is trying to invade, or crush, this small stable. Yet it cannot. Walking out of its cold and damp clutches I am aware of the simple warmth and quiet joy the light provides. As I draw closer to the place where the child lies I feel compelled to fall on my knees. It’s not like I don’t want to, it’s more that I can’t help myself from doing it. Everything is strangely quiet. Closing my eyes I can’t help but think about how great God is and how thankful I am for what he has done for me. Immanuel. God with us.

The day after. When the hype is fading away and people begin to look ahead at a new year, I want to look ahead and say, “God willing, I wish to do this and that”. The hype may be fading away but the meaning and purpose do not. In a few short months I will again find myself kneeling but that will be at the foot of the cross. And then, just like now, I will be reflecting upon how great God is and how thankful I am for what he has done for me. The bread of life. The light of the world. The good shepherd. The door. The gate. The way, the truth and the life. The resurrection and the life.

So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of the light.”… “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.”