It's Christmas Time Again!

This should be the most wonderful time of the year. I look out my window and see houses adorned with lights, Bing Crosby is singing Joy to the World, and the air is getting crisp even for Colorado. But I find myself more like Charlie Brown wondering what Christmas is really all about, wondering why I'm not happy at the happiest time of the year.

Yesterday was the first Sunday of Advent, a time of celebration for Jesus' birth into our world and a time of expectation of his triumphal return. I've come to relish the duel nature of the season; for so long Christmas was simply about me. Then I discovered that it was about Jesus, that he came to us in our darkest hour and filled our greatest need. But I sometimes wonder if that need is really being met; in the midst of decking the halls, I wonder how we'll pay rent on them.

So much of this season is still focused on us, our greed, over-consumption, feelings of inadequacy, and I wonder if Jesus' birth really accomplished all that much. And yet, I look within my own heart, an I know he is birthed there. The bonds of slavery to self-worship and self-hate have been broken and a promise has taken root.

Its this promise that holds my heart captive. A promise to be fulfilled in God's rebirth, His second coming into this world to give the final gift and perhaps the first gift as well. In this current season we find ourselves in the tension of the two Advents. We are children of the not-yet-but-soon-to-be-fully-realized promise. So we wait.

But we do not wait passively. The realization of that inaugural promise is to be achieved in some wondrous way, through us, the children of promise. We are and are becoming the instruments of the change all of our hearts are waiting for. We pray, we turn the other cheek, we go the extra mile, we love our enemies, we give our last mites, we "birth" Jesus into our neighborhood manger.

This season of Advent, I believe God is calling us to another act of Christ-imitation: Simplicity.

In a season when people pepper-spray each other to get the best deal on presents, could we 'birth' Christ into our mess by refusing to be carried away in the 'getting' season.

Our family has begun to wonder if there is enough room in the 'inn' of our home for this birth. After a few years of marriage we have accumulated simply too much stuff. So we're going to give it away.

Each day this Advent we are giving away one thing, not trash, but meaningful items. We're not sure what this looks like or how hard/easy it will be, but we feel compelled to make room. Each week I'll write about our adventure in giving. Please join us as we seek more through less.

Come Lord Jesus.