Long, long ago...in a galaxy far, far away...many people waited until the very last minute to purchase gifts for their friends and family for Christmas. They would hustle, bustle, curse, gesticulate and palpitate all day long on Christmas Eve, trudging from store to store, struggling to get their eleventh hour shopping done.
Nowadays, the people just curse, gesticulate, and palpitate as they wait all day long on Christmas Eve, in hope the UPS driver will come before midnight to deliver all the items they ordered online!
Oh, how we fixate on getting just the right gift for the right person: something personal, unique, memorable. We look expectantly to that moment when the present is opened to see the expression on his face, to hear the excitement in her response! Yes, it is indeed better to give than to receive.
But are you remembering to give yourself a gift this Christmas?
It's neither selfish nor tacky to do so. In fact, one might contend that it's essential to give to yourself before giving to anyone else.
"Love the Lord God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength...and love your neighbor as yourself." For four weeks, we have explored these words of Jesus Christ in response to questioning from the religious establishment of his day. These words, he said, represented the greatest of commandments.
"Love your neighbor as yourself." Simple, yet profound. We could spend four weeks, four months, four years or a lifetime just exploring what those five words meant then and mean now, and experience revelations anew each time we read them.
Paul, whose conversion experience led him to be a "Jesus-follower" after Christ's death, talked a great deal about love. He painted a very clear picture for the contentious church members of Corinth, lest they be confused. Love, he said, is certain things and is not others. Love is patient, kind, protective, trusting, hopeful, and persevering, Love is not selfish, quick to anger, boastful, envious, prideful, or about keeping a long and permanent list of all the mistakes one has made.
If we make good use of Paul's listing, we have a guide for how we are to be with other people. But if we are to take Jesus' commandment in full measure, then it appears we have to start with ourselves first, to establish a model for how we are to treat one another.
Am I patient with myself, or do I speak against myself in frustration when I don't get things right the first time? Do I protect myself from things or situations that may harm me, or am I so unguarded as to place myself in constant physical or spiritual danger? Am I kind to my spirit and my body, or am I self-abusive? Am I prone to give up on myself rather than seeing myself through the long-haul?
If I cannot show myself the consideration of love, how can I do so for others? Indeed, the way I treat myself--for better or worse--will show up in how I treat others. If I am to follow Jesus' commandment, I better take a long, hard look at how I am treating myself...for that is precisely what others will get from me.
"I can be kind to myself and, therefore, to others," I might say. "Okay, I will work on patience with myself and the people I love." That might be an easy place to start. Then we hit the "biggie" in Paul's list of love words, right there in I Corinthians 13:5.
"Love keeps no record of wrongs." Darn it, there's that pesky "forgiveness" thing. "Now he's gone to meddling," we think.
Heeding both Jesus' and Paul's words about love, the message is, "Keep no record of the mistakes of others as you keep no record of the mistakes you have made," It would appear that forgiveness of others should be modeled after the way we forgive ourselves.
Oh, Lord, if only it were as simple as it sounds! Some of us are good not only at keeping the list of all the mistakes we've made, we've become proficient at flogging ourselves on account of them. We are accustomed to the self-inflicted scars. We practically take out ads to remind ourselves and everyone else of how we can't forgive ourselves for our past mistakes.
And then we fail to forgive others, just as we fail so capably to forgive ourselves.
This Christmas Eve, once you're done with the hustle and bustle and the waiting and watching, find that quiet space and time when you can give yourself the greatest gift this Christmas, the gift of forgiveness. Then watch how much easier it is to do the same for others, just as Christ commanded.
I imagine he would be most pleased with such a personal, unique, and memorable birthday remembrance.
Have yourself a merry little Christmas...may all your days be merry and bright...and may love rule each and every one of them!
Scott Elliff
Christmas Eve, 2015
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