Choosing to Celebrate All That He Has Done
Categories: Léo’s Insights 2022-2023
Regardless of how you view and/or celebrate Christmas, or not, let’s include the rest of the year’s celebrations in this message.
I doubt Jesus was born on December 25th. We know where he was born, and ultimately we know why. We can imagine how he was born, as he came through normal channels, but we do not know exactly when. Still, for the sake of argument, let’s say we celebrate the birth of Christ at this time of year.
Two followup celebrations take place in February: Valentine’s Day, when we celebrate love, which the Apostle John tells us is the essence of God, and Family Day, when we celebrate God’s nuclear unit of life.
Sometime in March or April, we remember Jesus’s death, followed by the greatest celebration of all, Easter, Christ’s resurrection from the dead.
In May, we celebrate Mother’s Day. Father’s Day comes in June. On July 1, we celebrate the formation of this great country and our earthly home. August sees us celebrate a holiday that varies from place to place, so we can assume we are generally celebrating a bit of extra summer fun, as we are sure to soon see summer give way to colder weather.
In September, what used to be a holiday celebrating the contribution of labourers has now become a celebration of the Province of Alberta for those of us fortunate enough to be living within its borders. Both are cause to celebrate.
October brings us a day when we give thanks for all we have and likely take for granted.
In November we remember what others have done so we can have the freedoms we have. And then we are back to December and Christmas.
It does appear as though we are always celebrating something, but do we stop to ask why we should and where all this celebration comes from? Have you ever considered all those celebrations actually point to God?
We are now celebrating God’s coming to this world as a man (Christmas) to demonstrate how much love (Valentine’s Day) God has for us. So much so that He died for us on the cross (Good Friday), only to be resurrected from the dead (Easter). I personally believe this to be the greatest celebration of all, as it initiated our salvation.
God created us male (Father’s Day) and female (Mother’s Day) and encouraged us to multiply and create the central focus of his love (Family Day). He provided us with a “Home and Native Land” (Canada Day), time to enjoy it (August long!) and work (Labour day) within it (Alberta Day). We then take time to be thankful for all that He has provided and done for us (Thanksgiving) and to remember that it has all come at a great price both to himself and to those men and women who have sacrificed to provide us with the freedom and opportunities we have (Remembrance Day).
This Christmas, why don’t we take the time to see that none of these holidays could have any meaning without God who so loved this world that He sent His only begotten son. We are not just celebrating the birth of this saviour, but the life and freedom that came through this greatest act of love, and all the abundance we tend to take for granted when we forget where it all started.
Merry Christmas, or should I say Merry Life… And celebrate home education as part of “Whosoever the Son of Man sets free shall be free indeed”.
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