A Season of Giving

Have you ever seen "The Toy That Saved Christmas"? "Christmas is when you get stuff" is one toy's mantra until friends teach him differently.

I know better than that, don't I? A recent conversation with a neighbor made me start thinking about how I live what I believe. She is struggling with celebrating any part of Christmas because of all of the things that it has become. So much of the holiday is commercial and self-centered. Oh, but I do love Christmas! I love the tree,the music, the movies, the smells and picking the perfect gifts for loved ones. I just want to make sure that all of these things are God-honoring in our home.

But, we do make sure that our family keeps the right focus don't we? Sure, we read the Christmas Story (the real one) on Christmas Eve. On particularly efficient years I've even remembered to start recognizing Advent on time. The first thing you see when you walk in the door is our Nativity, not the tree. We always pack shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. But, is this enough? I'm not so sure. One definition of "focus" is "a center of activity, attraction or attention." It still seems to me that the center of our attention might still be in the wrong place.

I've just started following a great blog, Keeping the Kindgom First. The author is inviting individuals to join in a "30 Days of Giving Challenge". As I read her post this morning I thought about all the little ways that I could give but do not. So I am accepting the challenge. I hope you will too! Giving doesn't have to be expensive, time consuming, or difficult. I've decided to try to find one new way to give every day between now and Christmas. It is my "Giving Thru Christmas Challenge" to you and to my own family. I realize that this is longer than 30 days. I hope that it will become a habit! I will keep you posted on my progress, and I hope you will let me know how you have fleshed out the spirit of giving in your own life.

One caveat though, let's try to make the focus on Christ, shall we? Use the opportunity to point someone to Jesus. Maybe they are a believer and you just want to remind them of the real meaning of Christmas. Maybe they do not believe and you can be a witness in the name of Christ. Maybe you won't even know. But, if someone asks why you have given to them in some way, take the opportunity to tell them that it is the love of Jesus that compels you.

A fb friend posted a status this week that caught my attention. She said that she had been having a terrible day and while in line at a coffee shop another person had paid for her order as well as their own. She couldn't figure out why, but thought it was a nice gesture. I don't know if the mystery giver is following Jesus, but I do know that they got my friend's attention with their kindness.

My act for today? Well, I've been under the weather for a few days, and I had to find something to do from home. So, today I spent some time going to sites to Click for Charity. Here are a couple of links that I gleaned from Keeping the Kingdom First:



What's on tap for tomorrow? I'm not sure yet. I'll let you know how it goes though. How about you? How's your focus this year?

Luther

Last night we watched the movie "Luther" in honor of Reformation Day. Many are not aware that October 31st has significance beyond Halloween. It is a Christian holiday which marks the anniversary of Martin Luther's nailing of his 95 Theses on the door of the church in Wittenburg, Germany in 1517. This one act of tremendous courage was the catalyst for reform within the church which released the faithful from the shackles of legalism and corruption that pervaded it. Only clergy at the highest levels were allowed the privilege of learning Greek so that they could personally read scripture. The Bible was not made available in the common languages because the common man, including lower level clergy, were considered too simple-minded to understand it. Translation was prohibited. People were made to believe that their money was the answer to securing their own salvation and that of their loved ones, even those already dead.

Martin Luther, as a young monk, was sent by his mentor to Wittenburg to study theology. In his study, and through a visit to Rome where he witnessed the corruption first-hand, he came to the conviction that Christ alone was necessary for salvation. He very nearly paid for these convictions with his life. At the Augsburg Diet of Worms (pronounced Vorms, rhyming with forms) in 1521 Luther was ordered to recant his teachings and his writings or be condemned to death. His response was, "Unless I am convinced by proofs from Scriptures or by plain and clear reasons and arguments, I can and will not retract, for it is neither safe nor wise to do anything against conscience. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen."

Many Christians gave their lives for the sake of the Gospel during the Reformation. Martin Luther did not. By God's grace, and the quick thinking of supporters in positions of influence, including Prince Frederick, he survived until 1546 when he died of natural causes. There is no doubt that he fully believed the closing words of one of his most famous hymns, "The body they may kill: God's truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever." A good, albeit brief, synopsis of Luther's life can be found here.

I am so very thankful for the courage with which these men faced inestimable odds. They believed, as I do, that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth as a man. He is the only person who will ever walk the earth and live a sinless life. He willingly gave Himself as a sacrifice, dying on a cross, to pay the penalty for my sin and yours. Sin, the the act of rejecting God and His law, separates us from God because He is Holy and can only be in relationship with those who are holy. Jesus conquered death on the third day after his burial and came back to life. He now stands as mediator between us and His Father, the holiness of His sinless life covering our imperfections. Christ's work is complete. Salvation is a free gift to all who seek it. Our only task is to ask God's forgiveness for our sin and entrust our lives to Christ and His finished work. Luther shared this opportunity for forgiveness with the people and taught them that no amount of money or good deeds could ever be enough to reconcile a sinner to God.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

Salvation is a gift of God's grace to all who will repent and believe. Martin Luther realized this and set the church on a trajectory toward freedom in Christ alone. Because, after all, that is what salvation is...FREEDOM.