Monday, December 26, 2005 . 11:40 AM

something to ponder

hey guys.tis is a little long but do read it.

A Purpose Driven Christmas
Getting the most out of Christmas this year
December 07, 2005 - by Rick Warren
A few months ago at Halloween, I made a quick stop ata discount store, where I stumbled onto a stock crewbusily pulling candy from the shelves. It was onlyabout 5 o'clock, but it seemed sensible to assume thatthe trick-or-treat crowd had already bought all thegoodies they were going to buy.But here's what made this such an unforgettablesnapshot - as they pulled the Halloween treats fromthe shelves, they were replacing them with Christmascandy. The corpse of Halloween hadn't even grown cold,and yet the artificial spirit of Christmas - crass commercialism - already inhabited the malls ofAmerica.Every year it seems like the starting date for ourpanicked dash through the Christmas season gets pushed ever earlier, encouraging us all to work harder andspend more in an effort to make the approaching yuletide the best one ever.Do you think it will ever slow down? And in the years to come, do you think your family and friends ar egoing to remember the wild-eyed, charge-card marchinto the shadowy hours of Christmas morn, when thelast store closes? Or, will they remember the more important expressions of Christmas, such as God's love for us all and the value of deep, caringrelationships?This has been on my mind ever since my sister found a picture of me as a mop-haired 3-year-old, standing next to a birthday cake for Jesus. The cake was my idea, a burst of preschooler inspiration in responseto my mother's explanation that Christmas is the celebration of Jesus' birth. I concluded with a child's logic, "Well then, we should have a party andcake and Kool-Aid and sing happy birthday to him!"This "birthday party for Jesus," complete with angelfood cake, became a family tradition now entering its47th year. We sing carols and read the Christmas storyfrom the Bible, and then each family member answerstwo questions: "What from this past year are youthankful to God for?" and "Since it's Jesus' birthday,what gift will you give him this next year?"Moments like these are far more meaningful andmemorable than ones involving the tacky tinseltrinkets that claim to contain the heart of Christmas.Most of us know that the key to the "best Christmasever" is not buying more or doing more, the problem is- we just don't know how to get off the treadmill. Howdo you stay focused on the things that are importantand get un-focused from the things of littlesignificance?Purpose-driven holidaysI believe you answer that question by applying apurpose-driven approach to Christmas - balancing yourholiday around the five biblical purposes offellowship, character growth, service, missions andworship. God created you to live with this balance andthat's why, when you're out of balance, you begin tofeel stress.Let me put it this way: To maintain your physicalhealth, you need regular check-ups with a doctor whocan assess your vital signs - blood pressure,temperature, weight, and so on. For your spiritualhealth, particularly during the hectic holiday season,you need to check the five vital signs of fellowship,character, service, missions and worship. The ancientwriter, Jeremiah, once advised, "Let's take a goodlook at the way we're living and reorder our livesunder God." (Lamentations 3:40, The Message)The purpose of fellowshipIf you're like me, you don't have any problem withfellowship during the Christmas season! In fact, mybiggest challenge may be too much fellowship. But I'velearned over the years that the greatest gift I cangive anyone is my time.When you give someone your time, you're giving aportion of your life that you'll never get back! Theessence of the Christmas spirit is not what we thinkor do or provide for others, but how much we give ofourselves.I saw the power of fellowship when our children wereyounger. I remember they would pass on all sorts ofthings - a chance to watch more TV or play a littlelonger - in order to crawl into my wife's lap to reada story. It confused me at first, until I realizedthat, more than the stories, my children valued thegift of their mother's time. By reading to ourchildren, Kay was saying, "I value you enough to giveyou my most precious asset - my time."This Christmas you can give your children orgrandchildren the gift of fellowship by purposefullyblocking out time to spend with them, making goodiestogether or reading about Jesus in the manger.Or you could try having a "Birthday Party for Jesus,"like my family does: it's a form of fellowship thathelps our family maintain a firm foundation thatsupports deep and rich relationships.The purpose of character growthBy character growth, I mean a sense of discipleship -that you're always growing in the values of yourfaith, and that you're actively teaching those valuesto others. Christmas is the perfect time to honestlyassess if your beliefs are truly influencing yourbehavior.One mom recently revealed to me how she taught herchildren about the meaning of Christmas. When theywere young, she would give them each a $20 bill andthen walk them through the toy department. Theirassignment was to buy toys for the less fortunate,thinking about what others might want and not whatthey might want for themselves.She said the process taught her three children to havea generous spirit and to maintain a healthy humilityabout the many blessings in their own lives. As herchildren grew older, she worked through her church toidentify specific families who wished to be "adopted"during the Christmas season, and she then led herchildren through this sponsorship process as theyprovided holiday meals and delivered presents to thosein need.But encouraging character growth can also be as simpleas teaching your children about your faith as youdecorate for the season. You can explain the Nativityis a picture of the first Christmas, where Jesus wasborn in a barn. It provides a means for teaching thefull Christmas story (Luke 2), from Mary and Joseph'strip to Bethlehem, to the angels announcing thearrival of baby Jesus and the shepherds running to seehim, to the arrival of the wise men.Or, as you decorate the Christmas tree, you canexplain that Daddy keeps this beat-up old ornamentbecause he made it when he was six, and it reminds himof a special night with his brothers and sisters. The"Baby's First Christmas" is a reminder of one child'sfirst holiday, when he or she was swaddled just likeJesus (and you can show how a baby is swaddled incloth).The purpose of serviceBefore I say anything about service, let me emphasizethat I think far too many families overload theirschedules at Christmas. That's why I encourage you tomaintain a balance between these five purposes. Bymeasuring everything you do according to how - orwhether - it fits among these purposes, you willactually find your holiday schedule more manageableand your season less stressful. By having a strongsense of purpose throughout the Christmas season,you're less likely to be pulled in every direction aspeople and activities compete for your attention.When it comes to serving others at Christmas, I wantto encourage you to think about the things you're goodat, and then give those talents away in service tothose around you. By this I mean, if you're good atorganizing, then give your organizational skills tosome project. If you're good at decorating, then offerthat as a service to your local congregation, perhapsdecorating the sanctuary. If you're good at cooking,then bring something to my house - Ha!The point is - you can give far more than money atChristmas, and God wants you to serve with your gifts,not just serve for the sake of service. For instance,you might organize an effort within your community,such as Franklin Graham's Operation Christmas Child,where shoeboxes are filled with items for needychildren. Someone else may be more gifted atpublicity, so that becomes their service; anotherperson might feel more comfortable simply filling theboxes, and that becomes their service.Use the gifts that God has given you and don't feelguilty that you can't do EVERYTHING. The Apostle Paulonce wrote, "God has given each of us the ability todo certain things well." (Romans 12:6, NLT) Since yournatural abilities are from God, he wants you to usethem!Consider this - you are the only person on earth whocan use your abilities. No one else can play your rolebecause they don't have the unique shape that God hasgiven you.The purpose of missionsBeing mission-minded means you shift your thinkingfrom "here and now" to the eternal. Thinking eternallywill keep you from majoring on the minors and help youdistinguish between what's urgent and what's ultimate.Let me explain with this example. Right now in myoffice I have a four-foot stack of generic mail - notpersonal letters - but things like magazines,newsletters, junk mail, and even some packagescontaining material that I know won't be needed untilnext month. Every morning that stack whispers to methat the sorting is urgent, but the reality is - it'snot urgent. It can wait, while I write this letter toyou - because you are more important than sorting thatstack.The point is - don't get so busy doing a thousandthings at Christmas that you fail to focus on thosethings that will last forever. It grieves me thatsometimes we're so busy with our own customs andfestivities that we forget to share with others whyChristmas is so meaningful to us.One simple way to do this is to have a Christmas OpenHouse. A friend of mine who happens to be a missionarysays she's found this to be an excellent way to opendiscussions of faith, and that it's worked in foreigncountries as well as the United Sates.During her Christmas Open House, Kathy reads theChristmas story, inviting children to sit on the flooraround her chair. She explains to everyone whatChristmas means to her family, and uses a smallNativity to emphasize portions of the story.She also leads everyone in singing Christmas carols,using ones that tell the story of God's love and thebirth of his Son, Jesus Christ, as a Savior to allmankind. She might include carols such as "Away in aManger," "Joy to the World," "Hark! The Herald AngelsSing," "O Come, All Ye Faithful," and "What Child IsThis?"The purpose of worshipAll that I've said so far serves as a reminder thatChristmas is a holiday rooted in a spiritual event.It's so easy to forget that as you're rushing to thestore for more wrapping paper or dashing to yourchild's school play. It's been my experience that evennon-church people recognize this, and they, too,wrestle with keeping the spirit of Christmas fromsliding into commercial overload. Wasn't that the verystruggle Charlie Brown had 40 years ago?Certainly you should take some time during theholidays when you praise and meditate upon God. Manychurches have candle-lighting services as a reminderthat Jesus, the Light of the World, was born to chasethe darkness out of our lives.Remember that many of our every day activities canbecome acts of worship when we do them for the praise,glory, and pleasure of God. The Bible teaches, "Sowhether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it allfor the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31, NIV) Thegreat Reformation leader, Martin Luther, once said, "Adairymaid can milk cows to the glory of God."How is it possible to turn the everyday tasks of lifeinto an act of worship? By doing them as if you weredoing them for God and by carrying on a continualconversation with God while you do them! The Biblesays, "Whatever you do, work at it with all yourheart, as working for the Lord, not for men."(Colossians 3:23, NIV)This is the secret to a lifestyle of worship - doingeverything as if you were doing it for God. TheMessage, a paraphrase of the Bible, says, "Take youreveryday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating,going-to-work, and walking-around life - and place itbefore God as an offering." (Romans 12:1, Message)Work becomes worship when you dedicate it to God andperform it with an awareness of his presence. To helpyou understand this, I want to tell you about the timewhen I first fell in love with my wife, Kay. I thoughtof her constantly: while eating breakfast, driving toschool, attending class, waiting in line at themarket, pumping gas - I could not stop thinking aboutthis woman!I often talked to myself about her and thought aboutall the things I loved about her. This helped me feelclose to Kay even though we lived several hundredmiles apart and attended different colleges. Byconstantly thinking of her, I was abiding in her love.You can worship God in a similar way, thinking andconversing with him constantly as you go about yourday, eating breakfast, driving your children toschool, attending the office Christmas party, waitingin that long line at the grocery store. By constantlythinking of God, you are abiding in his love. This iswhat real worship is all about - falling in love withGod.Imagine if you carried this worshipful attitude withyou as you stood in a long, Christmas line at the postoffice. You could transform the entire situationknowing that the cards and packages you were mailingwere part of your mission - your purpose - to reflectthe love of God. If you saw yourself as an ambassadorof God's love, how would you treat the crowds aroundyou differently?One of the greatest worship times I ever had duringthe holiday season was simply watching the pure joy ofmy children on Christmas morning. I was blessedwatching them, and I thought of how our heavenlyFather must have been pleased, too, with theircontagious joy.And that leads back to my "Birthday Party for Jesus,"where we talk about what God is doing in our lives andoffer a gift to God each year as a way of rememberinghe is the reason we celebrate the season.This moment of reflection helps us stay balancedbetween the five godly purposes of fellowship,character growth, service, missions and worship.There was a "Birthday Party for Jesus" about 30 yearsago when I shared with my family some words from theBible that had burned so deeply into my heart theyforever altered the direction of my life: "Davidserved God's purpose in his generation.." (Acts 13:36)This Scripture says that the ancient king of Israel,the same one who slew Goliath as a boy, dedicated hislife to fulfilling God's purposes on earth.I believe this is the ultimate definition of a lifewell lived - doing the eternal and timeless (God'spurposes) in a contemporary and timely way (in yourgeneration). That is the aim of a purpose-driven life,and the focus of a purpose-driven Christmas.It is only in this generation - in this now - that youcan create a meaningful and memorable Christmas foryourself and for the multiple-generations of yourfamily. As the ancient wisdom says: for such a time asthis, God created you! (Esther 4:14)