Christmas lights and more.

     I'm sitting here in my recliner (favorite place to type!) and three sides of the floor have various kinds of Christmas lights.  We hadn't put up Christmas lights one year as we weren't home.  We bought more over time and now have twice the amount we need.  But then we moved and have to come up with a different plan.  Where to put this or that?  Not the biggest problem I'll think about today.  We sometimes get so focused that the real and important stuff just slides by without touching home plate.  You have seen baseball players sliding into base with an outstretched arm and body as far away as the other teams player in order to evade getting called out!  I think that's about how I am feeling regarding the Christmas lights.  They are pretty and cheery and easy to maintain.  Some years I wish I had left them up from the previous Christmas.
     Then there is the lack of snow.  I know that some people are very happy there is no snow.  Having grown up in the Midwest I know Christmas to be celebrated at a time when there is snow.  Without the snow it doesn't feel fully Christmas.  I'll have to make do.  Some people spray "snow" on their windows in order to feel like they are now having snow.  Then there is the cleanup.  Nope, I'm not going to spray anything on my window.  I don't put green grass on the windows for the first day of Spring.  The tree will come next (probably this weekend) and put up it will be beautiful as my wife decorates the tree beautifully.  All that remains are the three "F's": food, friends and family.  They will keep us overeating for at least a month or two.  We will begin before Christmas and continue on into the New Year. 
     What comes up at this time of year is how important different aspects of Christmas are in our lives.  Will our neighbors look at the lights and say, "What a great Christian display." or "Looks like a waste of time and money."?  Just where does Jesus' birth fit into our lives?  Commercialism has taken over most every holiday throughout the year.  We end the "party" on New Year Eve with a party and celebration.  At least some people do.  Do our friends, family and the homeless see you display Christ or not?  Does God see us celebrating His Son or does he see people careful to not offend anyone?  Are you petrified of saying, "Merry Christmas" when people are told that the particular greeting is offensive to someone?  It used to be that we wanted everyone to know that this is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ who came, lived, died and rose again enabling us to have salvation.  What happened?
     I don't know about other's choices.  I do know about mine.  Complacency is my guilt.  When I first came to know Jesus and gave my life to him, it was with all of my heart.  Over time I became complacent but yet a Christian.  Those two don't go together and yet, here I am.  The desire and fire hasn't been as intense as it once was.  My contribution to the "mission" has been less than it should have been.  Year after year the fabric of what Christmas is all about has lessened to the point where I ask the questions at the beginning of this post.  I want to be able to say "Merry Christmas" and have people know it's all about Jesus.  If we don't say something with our thoughts, actions and words; then who will?  "The path to Hell is paved with good intentions."  If I have lived my witness, spoke my beliefs and thought about my world from Jesus' perspective; when people look at my lights they will see Jesus is celebrated here.  That's why I put up the lights every year.  I hope you do as well.