Over 2,000 years ago, Jesus came into the world and gave us his whole self. When Jesus comes into our own little world, how do we respond? Do we foster our relationship with Him by giving our gifts to Him like the magi or do we try to remove Him from our lives like Herod?
We always hear that it is better to give than to receive. However, for a relationship to thrive, there needs to be both giving and receiving. If one person is the only one giving, then the relationship will become strained. Jesus gives us His love and gave us his life. He shows us the way to navigate this crazy world. There aren’t many things we can to do repay God who has everything, but we can use the gifts that we have been given to repay Him. When we use our talents and gifts in the proper way, then our relationship with Him will strengthen. My older son got a telescope for Christmas. He could not use it at all, use it to stare at the sun and burn his eyes, whack his brother over the head with it, or explore the beauty of the universe. When my son uses it the way it was intended, he will be happy and I will be happy seeing him use the gift he was given. Jesus will be happy seeing us use the the gifts He gave us too.
We also have to watch out for things that cause us to separate ourselves from God. The rules of normal conversation state that we shouldn’t talk about politics or religion. It’s easy to be a Christian in church, but harder to show our faith when we are out in the world. Peer pressure and the fear of being judged sometimes causes us to not speak out on things that we normally would. It’s not always comfortable to defend our faith, our clergy, or even God in public. We want to fit in, so we might not speak up in defense of our beliefs. There are also so many distractions in the world such as the news, entertainment, work, or even family life. While all of those things can be good, we also need to make time everyday for God. It’s not spiritually healthy to fill our lives with too much fluff and push God to the side.
As we start a new year, let us all try to make more room for Jesus in our everyday lives. Let us also try to repay God by using our talents that He gave us to make the world just a little bit better place. If we can do those two things, we are guaranteed to have a happy new year!
