“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24
I’ve been in a mood lately. Having gotten fed up with stuff laying all around my house, piled up in closets and shelves, I’ve been in the mood to purge and organize. The only thing is I usually run out of places to put things before I’m finished, thus perpetuating the cycle of clutter and disorder.
For instance, I just recently helped my son clean out his room. This included throwing away the Christmas candy and emptying out the Easter basket. Ok, so I saved the candy canes because who doesn’t love chewy peppermint?
The top of his chest of drawers also holds many treasured possessions – at least earthly treasures to a 9 year old boy. Among the valuables, I found two Christmas ornaments. One was a tiny little frame holding a miniature copy of a painting he had made in his 2nd grade art class that was chosen to hang in our art museum. The other ornament was from his grandmother’s trip to Italy and closely resembled Pinocchio.
Although his room may be neater, many of the items that needed to be put away, such as the Easter basket and the Christmas ornaments, belong in the hot attic which reaches temperatures close to boiling in the hot afternoons of late September. So while one spot has been uncluttered, another spot has been christened the dumping grounds of these items.
Except for the ornaments which slowly but surely have made their way to the knobs on my kitchen cabinets. Because ornaments are meant to be hung, I was afraid they would get damaged if left on a shelf or been forgotten if left in the Easter basket.
I’m ahead of the game for once! It’s only September and my kitchen cabinets have already been decked out for Christmas! Not just the two I found in my sons room, but I have others hanging there as well. One is a little angel that a friend gave me years ago. I call her my kitchen angel, although I’m sure she was supposed to go on the tree, too. The other is from a special friend far away. It’s shaped like a heart and says, “Friends are like stars, you don’t have to see them to know they are there.”
These ornaments and messages remind me that Christmas is already here! Not the tinsel and carols that make our traditions, but Christ, our rescuer has already come. Even though we can’t see Him, we know He’s always here for us because He sent His Holy Spirit to live in our hearts, guiding us, comforting us and reminding us that He is with us always.
What about you? What’s hanging around your heart waiting for Christmas? Is it full of clutter that you keep moving from one place to the next because you don’t know what to do with it? We don’t have to wait to lay our hang-ups at the feet of Jesus. Christ is here and He’s waiting for you to bring whatever burdens you are carrying to Him. He already bore all of our sins when He died on the cross. He was hung on the tree so that we could hang our sins on Him. We are completely forgiven and free to celebrate new life because we are covered with the blood of the Lamb.
What are you waiting for? Christmas is here.
Merry Christmas!
His servant and yours,
Paula