Dark Thursday, Black Friday, Cyber Monday…deals, deals and more deals. If it was important enough, you left the Thanksgiving leftovers and the football game, got up at four in the morning or surfed the Internet for hours upon hours trying to find the perfect deal. What it teaches us is that we make time for what is important to us. If the price is right and the value of the gift is equal we made the sacrifice to fight the traffic, wait in lines and deal with difficult people that all comes along with the deal. If you didn’t get out for the deals, well something else was more important; Thanksgiving, football, sleep, family or friends just to name a few that might have been a priority over the deal.
Not much has changed in 2000 years. Jesus came to this earth yet so many of those we thought would have made it to His birth missed it. Why? Because something else was too important; the innkeeper missed because his Inn had never seen so much traffic, the merchant missed it because there was too much money to be made and the religious missed it because He didn’t come the way they thought He would. Who could have imagined that God would come robed in flesh in a manger in the sleepy town of Bethlehem, it was unthinkable.It’s also unthinkable that anyone could miss Him; His presence is so overwhelming, His miracles too grand but yet during His 33 short years here on earth many people missed Him. Caught up in the busyness of life, reaching for social importance or climbing the ladder of success, they missed “God with us.” Today, though He is not with us physically, we still miss Him, especially at Christmas. The office parties, the hustle to get Christmas gifts and even in all the events that we do to celebrate Him many times cause us to miss His simple presence.
Who caught Him in the moment; those who were in tune with His presence, those who understood and appreciated His value and those who truly longed for Him. It was shepherds, wise men and hurting souls longing for hope. As we go about all the “events” of Christmas make sure we don’t miss the gift to us, the present of His presence. Truly it is the only gift that keeps on giving. Merry Christmas from the Hudson’s – Jon, Mary, Gentry and Risa