If you are reading this on Monday morning…you are more than likely tired. You have survived another Christmas. The bottom of the tree might now look bare…ripped off wrapping paper may cover your carpet…and your belt might need to be loosened from all your overeating.
I wonder if that’s what it was like the morning after the first Christmas. Yes, I’m sure Mary was tired from giving birth the day before and Joseph was probably feeling the effects of watching his beloved Mary endure the pain of childbirth. But I have to believe there wasn’t any letdown the morning after Jesus’ birth. I can’t imagine that these new parents felt harried from the events of the past days or experienced depression because the big event was now over. Their focus during those days leading up to His birth had been on making sure they were prepared for His arrival. Nothing else mattered. All the good times and the bad times before that big day were now just a blur as they held their precious baby in their arms.
I wonder if the reason we sometimes feel a letdown the day after Christmas is because our focus leading up to this celebration wasn’t on Him. Could it be that we were more intentional on making sure the gifts for our friends and family were bought and wrapped, the food was all prepared and the parties were all attended…than on waiting with anticipation to celebrate Christ’s birth? Oftentimes, we are so exhausted by the time Christmas finally arrives, that we just put ourselves on autopilot to get through the day…knowing we can collapse when it is all over.
What a night that must have been and what a “morning after” Joseph and Mary must have experienced. You and I can also feel the same closeness to the Savior as they felt so many years ago just hours after His birth. To accomplish this, I believe we need to make an effort today to spend more time at the manger with our Messiah and savor the moments with Him. I’m thinking that if we are intentional on keeping our focus on Him…our spirit will be refreshed and our soul will be renewed!
“And so, dear brothers and sisters,
I plead with you to give your bodies to God
because of all he has done for you.
Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he
will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him."
Romans 12:1
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