CHRISTMAS RUSH OR CHRISTMAS REASON?

By Virginia Brandt Berg

I was standing in the doorway of a department store a few Christmases ago, enjoying a lovely Nativity scene in a store window, when a mother and her little girl came hurrying by. Catching a glimpse of the beautiful scene, the child grabbed her mother’s hand and exclaimed, “Mama! Mama! Please let me stop for a minute and look at Jesus!” But her mother replied wearily that they weren’t even half through with their shopping list and didn’t have time to stop—and walked on, dragging her disappointed daughter behind her.

The child’s words rang in my heart for a long time after that. “Please let me stop for a minute and look at Jesus.” I thought of all the minutes that had sped by me that busy Christmas in the mad rush of life that is accelerated at the height of the shopping season. How many minutes had I spent shopping and buying presents and preparing decorations and food in the great wind-up to Christmas, and how many had I spent with the One whose birth and life is the true meaning of this celebrative season?

Jesus is always so very close to us. He is “at our right hand” and “closer than a brother” (Psalm 16:8; Proverbs 18:24). He is within speaking distance. His birth is the essence of Christmas. His gifts to all—peace, love, and joy of heart—are the essential magic of Christmas. With arms outstretched He holds out these gifts to us and says, “Come to Me. I will give you rest. Learn from Me, and you will find rest for your souls” (Mathew 11:28–30). But these we will never receive if we forge on, endless shopping and to-do lists in hand, too busy to stop and even notice He’s right there.

Like the old saying, “Dew never falls on a stormy night,” we rarely experience the sweetness and joy of time spent with Jesus while in an anxious and feverish rush of accomplishment. But the dew of Heaven and the blessings of Christmas fall peacefully on our hearts and lives when we stop for a moment to get quiet and remember Him. To go on without Him is forfeiting the only real, lasting joy and perfect love that can be experienced in this life and shared forever.

Why don’t we stop and enjoy—really enjoy—what Christmas means? Cut down our task lists. Enjoy the beauty. There are so many wonderful things about Christmas and so many beautiful things to see. It would be a shame to miss it all, wrapping this and wrapping that, rushing for this last thing and that, cooking and preparing so much for a feast, cluttering our Christmas with so many unnecessary things. And should we not stop to enjoy anything of life until after Christmas, the fury with which we proceed will send us reeling into the New Year sighing, “I just survived Christmas!”

Jesus came to bless our lives. That is why we have Christmas. He said He came to bring us life, and that we might have it more abundantly (John 10:10). And the apostle Paul tells us, “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Peace and life in all their fullness need not elude us. They are ours to enjoy this Christmas if we’ll give Jesus a chance in our lives and a place in our hearts.

Let me take a minute with Jesus. The true presence of Christmas is found with Him. Let the celebration of His birth touch my heart in a new way this year. Let me learn more about the gifts He gave me so long ago on Christmas. Let me be a part of Christmas itself by being more like Him. Let me stop and look at Jesus.

Dear Jesus, I want each day that comes

To share some part with You,

Where I can sit, receive Your peace,

And hear You speak to me.

A place where I can turn aside

And leave the cares of life,

Where I can get the strength I need

To banish storm and strife.

A quiet, serene, and trusting place

Where You alone can give

The very blessing that I need—

Here would I rest and live. 