Epiphany: Playing YouTubes mixes of Hillsong, Maranatha and Hosanna music at night instead of surfing the Internet or being on Facebook.
The spirit of giving: My first gift this Christmas was to Médecins Sans Frontières. I also decided to ask most of my family members and relatives what they wanted for Christmas to avoid heavy deadweight losses from gift-giving. It meant they would not be surprised but it minimised the losses from giving people what I liked, rather than what they wanted/needed.
I also thought very hard about my gifts for friends and colleagues, weighing heavily towards practicality. Apologies if your gift was not what you had wanted. My thoughts are limited by my brain. Nonetheless, it was a good exercise in learning to give well.
Christmas: The season is always a mad rush for me. This year, however, my BFFs expressly stated "no gifts" although I still slipped in two gifts for two kids while half of my extended family was away or couldn't make it. I also bought vouchers for most of my family members. So that cut down quite a bit of the gift buying for me. Some gifts are still with me and at least one gift is still in transit!
To my family, relatives, friends and colleagues, thank you for your gifts but more important for your presence. Thank you for being such a big part of my life. It is the reason why I wake up most mornings thanking God. Other mornings, I just tumble out of bed, take a quick shower and rush to work.
Jesus: The Alpha and the Omega. I had more time this year over the Christmas break to contemplate a few things.
First, Maranatha. Come, Lord Jesus, come. I cannot comprehend man's hand in Aleppo and closer to home in Myanmmar. There is so much I don’t understand about God's sovereignty and His judgment of man's culpability. But all will be judged when Jesus comes again. So perhaps not now, but definitely in time to come.
Second, Immanuel. God with us. Christmas is about this good news. God coming down in the human form of Jesus to show us a way back to Him. God is holy and just. We have all fallen short. If you think that God is far apart from us, Jesus is proof of His closeness to us.
Jesus came, reached out to those who needed him and suffered everything on our behalf (rejection, ridicule, humiliation, pain, grief, suffering, and finally crucifixion, with the sins of the world on him). He was resurrected, indicating that God has accepted his sacrifice for us.
Third, The Call. if you believe in Jesus and acknowledge that He is your Lord and Saviour, you have a way back to God and eternal fellowship with Him. When God sees us, He sees us covered in Christ. This is the good news. God already accepts us, warts and all, because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. By His grace. You are free. And you belong to a royal priesthood and you are a son or daughter of God. Merry Christmas.
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