It's almost iChristmas

This is the last week before Christmas, so I wanted to encourage each of our teens to think about what they are planning to give for iChristmas. As we focus on the idea of love, it’s a great time to consider what is most important to us and how we can bless others.

Our society tells us over and over again that this is a season to want. What is on our Christmas list? What do you want for Christmas? We hear so many messages that our joy comes from what we get, that we can lose sight of what is really important. I believe that Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount have a lot to say to our culture of consumerism…

¹⁹“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

²²“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. ²³But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

²⁴“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Where is your treasure? What are the things you consider most important? What do you really need and what is want?

Most of us are blessed beyond belief. Even those of us who consider ourselves to have little have more than most of the world. Our needs would be a dream to much of the world’s population.

There is nothing wrong with enjoying our blessings, but we must always remember to put things in context. It is important to remember that most of the things we “need” are really things we want. Real needs, such as food and shelter, are things that we take for granted, but that much of the world struggles to find on a daily basis.

Just as God gave to us, we are called to give to others. As we enter the final week before Christmas, take time to think about how blessed you are and, more importantly, how you can be a blessing to others.

 

shine!
Jason