Monday, December 10, 2007

True Spirit of Christmas is a "irst time"experience

This time of year we hear a lot about "the true spirit of Christmas" and most of the people who say it are pretty close when they talk about it being the season to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Savior of the world. When I hear the statement these days it reminds me of something I once heard a youth evangelist talk about at a service. He spoke about Mary and how Mary had the true Spirit of Christmas alive and inside of her for nine months. That always makes me think of what happened when she unleashed that Spirit into the world. For the first time God looked at the world through human eyes. For the first time, He heard it through human ears, smelled it across human sinuses, touched it with human hands, and tasted things on a human tongue. There were all kind of "first time-evers" that came along with Jesus' time here on earth. How many can you think of? What does it mean to you when you think of God the Creator experiencing the creation the same way you do? Stop right now and think about that for a few minutes.......(This is me waiting while you think)....... How awesome is that!
Now think about the Spirit of Christmas being alive inside of you. Think about all the firsts that would happen if you unleashed it into the world now and year-round. Someone around you might look at God for the first time. Someone may hear God speaking to their heart for the first time. A person near you may for the first time in their lives smell the opportunity to have a purposeful life. They may feel the love of Christ for the first time ever! Someone may finally smell victory over harmful choices or addictions. Someone or some people around you may even get a chance, for the first time in their lives, to experience this life as a member of God's family! Wow! What else could happen for the first time if we just unleash the Spirit inside of us?................(again)...................... Man, this is an awesome day to think, huh?