Holiday Season: Bless

That's my favorite Christmas carol, Joy to the World. I've always liked it because it's kind of upbeat compared to some of the others (like God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, etc.) and because a 90's ska band named the O.C. Supertones did a sweet rendition of it. But recently I've been thinking that the song might have a deeper message to it.

Christmas can be a pretty selfish holiday. I mean, one of the first things that you do is make up a list of stuff that you want. Then you spend a lot of time wondering whether your parents or grandparents will make your wishes come true. Then you spend time pouting about what you didn't get (okay, hopefully you don't do that). In my family, we even have a tradition of taking our Christmas money and going shopping for all the things that we still want after Christmas morning. Yea, it can get pretty self-centered if you let it. By the way, I want a Prince 03 White MP. Oh, wait...

When things start to get self-centered, it's always good to have a little reminder that life, especially life following Christ, is about others. That is what I think Joy to the World can do. When we remember Christmas, we should think of the story of Jesus, and know that the joy of Christ was for the whole world. Well, okay, that includes us but is way beyond ourselves.

Christ brought joy and hope to all people, and as Christ followers, we should follow Jesus' example by bringing joy and hope to our worlds. That can mean a lot of things throughout the Christmas season. For me it will mean helping my mom clean dishes and talking with her instead of just vegging on the couch after Christmas dinner. It will mean having just as much happiness about what I give as I do about what I get. It will mean making sure that my wife is happy about the amount of time we are spending with her family. It will mean keeping my eyes out for the concerns of others. Hope that it means the same to you as well. Well, except without the wife part.

So here's to holiday cheer, and bringing joy to the world.

And if you are still sad, looks like Daniel's ready for a hug...