Today marks the official day when our life gets back to normal! After the long 6 hour drive last night from Ohio, we are back home and enjoying sitting around sipping coffee, eating leftover candy we got from our stockings for breakfast, and being totally ok with our home looking like a cyclone hit it (since we got in at 1am last night!) December has been pretty busy- with Dan being gone for almost 2 weeks straight for work, a trip to California, a couple days with Dan's sister here in Chicago, and then a week in Ohio, it feels good to be home and getting settled (however I have a feeling when Dan goes back to work I am going to miss having all the people around- and so will Jake!)
This past week when we were in Ohio we heard a great sermon about the concept of Jesus coming as our savior. We always joke that Pastor Joe Coffey is the master of sermon illustrations. The second we see him step up to the pulpit and set up his props, we start to exchange smiles across the pews. But all joking aside, he always has great illustrations that get his point across. On Sunday he talked about how it's so hard for us to grasp that Jesus came as our Savior. Having a Savior means we need to be saved from something. It means that we need help. We can't do it on our own. Deep down inside no one wants to admit that. Even though I fully believe Jesus Christ came to save us, there are still times when I fall back into that "I can do it myself attitude."
Joe's illustration described how he was trying to get his car out of some sand when he lived in Florida. After what appeared to be 30 minutes or so of struggling, he was gasping for breath and sweating when his neighbor came out and asked if he needed help. Can you bet what he said? Yep- he gave a friendly wave, thanked him for offering, but said he was ok. Clearly, he was not ok. Clearly, his truck was struck and he needed help. But he didn't want to admit that.
I do the. exact. same. thing. My co worker Sarah always calls me out when I say that I don't need help carrying the 10 bags into work that I'm trying to balance in my hands by saying "are you sure you don't need help, or are you doing the Stefanie Cinadr thing by being nice and saying no when I could really do something for you?" It seriously boggles my mind. There is someone who is offering to help. They could make my job much easier. I could use the extra hand. However I still say no. I still try to do it on my own.
We all have in us that innate nature that says "I'm ok. I don't need your help" and that's why believing that Christmas is about a baby coming to save us is so hard to grasp - and uncomfortable really. It means we have to humble ourselves and stifle our pride and say "yes! Save me- i need it!"
We are presented with a Savior that promises us a life of peace and joy- yet we turn Him down and say that we can do it on our own. We trudge through holding onto burdens and trying to muster up an "I can do it on my own" attitude when we can't. That's why I'm so thankful for Christmas. For the reminder that I need a Savior and that it's ok to admit it. Life is much better when I believe that. I hope this Christmas you were able to spend some time thinking about the real meaning of Christmas :)
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