"Giving" or "Giving up"?

We are now through the Christmas season. Unlike the common assumption that Christmas is only on December 25 or January 7. Other smaller historical communities celebrate our Lord's birth on different days. One of the earliest celebrations is December 6. One of the last ones is December 12. This is because small Christian groups across the Middle East and Northern Africa keep to their own traditions and calendars. 

I'm always impressed that the "world" gets things "wrong." The commercialization of the season has made it so Christmas songs begin to sound on the PA systems in stores soon after Halloween. By the time December 25 comes along, our minds are almost inoculated against the real significance of Jesus Christ coming into the world. It's, "Only ten days until Christmas!" Or, "Who is on your Christmas list that you're finding it hard to get a gift for?" 

 The exact opposite is at the core of the Christmas message. It's not so much that Christmas is about Jesus and giving; it's about Jesus giving up. The secular world has it all wrong! Instead, let's consider what Jesus "gave up." "He did not consider equality with God to be grasped. Instead, he made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, … he humbled himself and became obedient to death." Philippians 2:6-8 The miracle of Christmas is how much the Lord Jesus Christ "gave up." All of heaven, creation, the majesty, and wonder of the godhead was his. Instead, he gave these up to become a helpless baby and, as an adult, a slave. His actions at the Last Supper were those undertaken by a slave; he washed the feet of each friend who came to recline at the table. 

 The meditation on Christ's giving up spurns me to consider my selfish actions. I wish to live differently, to live selflessly. I want every day of this year to be lived considering the eternal pleasures we receive when following our Saviour. 

 "If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose." Philippians 2:1,2