being a light during Christmas

 
It's Christmastime and wow, there's so much going on!  Between the sweets and goodies, the white elephant parties, and the Christmas caroling, concerts, and get-togethers, it's easy to get overwhelmed.  Either that or feel like superwoman as you attempt to attend everything, buy everything, wrap everything, and eat everything...

Of course, we know Christmas is about Christ and celebrating Who He is to us as believers, but sometimes it's so easy to overlook that in the midst of the fun and busyness!  Recently Krista and I were talking about Christmas and how we really want this to be a time of service.  Yes, you read that right - we were talking about Christmas being a time of service.  That's usually not too high on the list of things to do during the holiday season.  But when you consider Jesus and take a look at Scriptures, it's clear He's about serving others (John 13), putting others' needs above our own (Phil. 2), and loving others (Mark 12:29-31).  Let's look at Matthew 20:26-28 for one example:

"It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Just prior to these verses in Matthew, a mother asked Jesus if her two sons could be seated near Jesus in His kingdom.  He denies her request and continues with verses 26-28 which you just read above.  The point of why I'm sharing these verses is that Jesus Himself says that He came to serve and "to give His life a ransom for many."

So it's that magical time of the year and we're celebrating Jesus.  It makes sense, then, that if we are celebrating Him, we would also seek to be like Him - to serve others during this special time of the year (and throughout the year!).

You might be thinking that you don't have much money leftover from your paycheck or that you've already spent almost everything on your college education, so what can you do?  Well, there are many ways to be a light during Christmas, to serve others and share His love!  Money can be a great tool in that ministry, but time is also valuable - maybe even more so.  Take a look at the list below and then pick one or two opportunities that you can do.

- visit a local nursing home or a neighborhood to do some caroling  
- plan a Christmas party and invite others to celebrate Christ's birth with you
- serve in a local soup kitchen
- make ornaments, baked goodies, or another festive gift and give them to your neighbors
- volunteer to watch your siblings or a friend's kids to give the parents a date night

The ideas and opportunities are endless!  There are many other ways to be a light this Christmas, girls!  Pray about what you can do to share Jesus and His heart of service.  Let's make Christmas 2014 a Christmas to remember - because of what He did and Who He is!