What Christmas Means to Me
"'What if Christmas,' he thought, 'doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more?'" --Dr. Suess ("How the Grinch Stole Christmas")
What does Christmas mean to me? Whatever the historical origins of the holiday we now know as Christmas are, Christmas, to me, is first and foremost the celebration and commemoration of the birth of the Savior and Redeemer of the world. More than that, the birth of my Savior and Redeemer. Mosiah 3:5-8 from the Book of Mormon really caught my attention as I was considering its applications to me.
"...The Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases. And he shall cast out devils, or the evil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men. ... And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary."
How has Christ healed me?
I think it's fairly clear that He hasn't healed me personally from physical blindness. But He has healed me in innumerable other ways, many of which do, symbolically, fall into these categories. Ordinary and more significant hurts and failures, including the sickening feeling of despair, have been eased and healed by my Savior. I cannot recount all of the many times my personal heartache, loss, anger, or loneliness has been healed by my Savior. More specifically, though, there have been times that the disease of not forgiving another person has plagued my heart and soul. I have been blinded by prejudice, deafened by misunderstanding, and crippled by fear. All of those things, and many more, have been healed at various times by my Savior.
However, in my opinion, the greatest miracle I have witnessed with regards to myself and others has to do with the following set of miracles: "raising the dead...And he shall cast out devils, or the evil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men."
Sin is a prison, a dark pit, an unrelenting scourge, a never-ending night. Whatever the connotations of sin are in your mind, I am sure that all of us have had reason to regret something we have done. Badly. Desperately. Wanting anything for it to never have happened. Or that we have some character flaw that we despise and want to be rid of. But, mercifully, "the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon" (2 Nephi 2:26).
This truth has changed my life. It has transformed me, to know that not only can I be clean from what I have done wrong, but also that I have hope to continue to change and become better. I cannot say how much that this means to me, nor how absolutely incredible it is to watch those I love dearly experience this truth as well. Words cannot express my gratitude and joy for this precious truth.
As I have gotten older, the traditions, gifts, lights, etc. surrounding Christmas have become much less important. While I do still enjoy those things, they do not have quite the same impact on me that they did before. Instead, Christmas has become much more about love, forgiveness, service, family, and Christ. Christmas means remembering Christ and who He was, and is, and what He did for me. It means that I can be with my family forever. It means hope. Light. Eternal life. Forgiveness. Peace. Joy. Charity. In short, Christmas means Christ.
And so, as I go back to my ordinary, everyday tasks, I hope that I can remember what Christmas meant to me this Christmas. I hope that my pondering of the meaning Christmas this weekend can help me renew my efforts to be a better disciple of Christ. We celebrate His birth because of how He lived. May I honor His life now by the way I live.
"...The Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men, and shall dwell in a tabernacle of clay, and shall go forth amongst men, working mighty miracles, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, causing the lame to walk, the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear, and curing all manner of diseases. And he shall cast out devils, or the evil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men. ... And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning; and his mother shall be called Mary."
How has Christ healed me?
I think it's fairly clear that He hasn't healed me personally from physical blindness. But He has healed me in innumerable other ways, many of which do, symbolically, fall into these categories. Ordinary and more significant hurts and failures, including the sickening feeling of despair, have been eased and healed by my Savior. I cannot recount all of the many times my personal heartache, loss, anger, or loneliness has been healed by my Savior. More specifically, though, there have been times that the disease of not forgiving another person has plagued my heart and soul. I have been blinded by prejudice, deafened by misunderstanding, and crippled by fear. All of those things, and many more, have been healed at various times by my Savior.
However, in my opinion, the greatest miracle I have witnessed with regards to myself and others has to do with the following set of miracles: "raising the dead...And he shall cast out devils, or the evil spirits which dwell in the hearts of the children of men."
Sin is a prison, a dark pit, an unrelenting scourge, a never-ending night. Whatever the connotations of sin are in your mind, I am sure that all of us have had reason to regret something we have done. Badly. Desperately. Wanting anything for it to never have happened. Or that we have some character flaw that we despise and want to be rid of. But, mercifully, "the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon" (2 Nephi 2:26).
This truth has changed my life. It has transformed me, to know that not only can I be clean from what I have done wrong, but also that I have hope to continue to change and become better. I cannot say how much that this means to me, nor how absolutely incredible it is to watch those I love dearly experience this truth as well. Words cannot express my gratitude and joy for this precious truth.
As I have gotten older, the traditions, gifts, lights, etc. surrounding Christmas have become much less important. While I do still enjoy those things, they do not have quite the same impact on me that they did before. Instead, Christmas has become much more about love, forgiveness, service, family, and Christ. Christmas means remembering Christ and who He was, and is, and what He did for me. It means that I can be with my family forever. It means hope. Light. Eternal life. Forgiveness. Peace. Joy. Charity. In short, Christmas means Christ.
And so, as I go back to my ordinary, everyday tasks, I hope that I can remember what Christmas meant to me this Christmas. I hope that my pondering of the meaning Christmas this weekend can help me renew my efforts to be a better disciple of Christ. We celebrate His birth because of how He lived. May I honor His life now by the way I live.
Comments
Post a Comment