Charlie Brown Christmas

One of my favorite Christmas programs is the OLD Charlie Brown Christmas Show. Everyone's seen it, I'm sure. Lots of great scenes...Snoopy kissing Lucy, Peanuts characters dancing, etc. But, my favorite part is the restoration of the "blockhead's" spirit after he had been so ostracized by the other kids for his ridiculous tree. His desperation to understand Christmas drives him to ask the question, "Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?" Linus steps up, blanket in tow, removes thumb from his mouth, gives the directive,"Lights please" then quotes the Christmas story from Luke 2:8-14, King James Version! At the risk of losing my man card, I must confess I tear up every time and my wife usually laughs at me. You owe it to yourself and your family to watch it this Christmas season!

I thought about Charlie's "Christmas moment" this week as I was asked to share a devotion at our Church staff Christmas luncheon. I talked about the disillusionment that often accompanies the Christmas season. I shared about my first experience of the Charlie Brown Christmas syndrome when I learned "the truth" about Santa Claus in my late elementary years. Seems like that was just the beginning, though. Throughout my youth/adult years, there have been Christmas seasons of great joy, but also some years of extremely painful family issues, loved ones passing/being missed during the holidays, financial issues, and even a kidney stone a few years ago! 

A passage Linus didn't quote from Luke 2 is vss. 25-26 concerning an elderly man named Simeon who had been notified by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Consolation of Israel. I love that terminology used to identify Jesus, the Messiah. The word "consolation" carries with it the idea of an event or individual who takes away disappointment, sadness...disillusionment. Simeon, along with other citizens of Jerusalem, had known disappointment, sadness, disillusionment living under Roman oppression for a good part of his life. Who knows whether Simeon envisioned all that the Christ-child meant for creation, but his heart was restored by the coming of the "Consolation of Israel.

Wow, I think the restoration of Charlie Brown's tree moves me like it does because I get it, I've lived it, I've been consoled by the CONSOLER! The Christ-child grew to manhood, took on the sin weight of all who were ever born in his sacrificial death on the cross AND communicated to all who follow him that he came to "bring good news to the poor...bind up the brokenhearted!" Although everything in the world, my country and my personal "world" is not all that I long for it to be, I recognize the Consolation of MY LIFE being very active and alive. The issues plaguing our country... hopelessness, brokenness, division, recklessly sinful behavior, etc. require those of whose lives of disillusionment and disenfranchisement have been regenerated by the Savior Linus talked about and we Christ followers know!

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Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose!

At this point in football season, it seems the hopes of my favorite teams hinge on whether or not the players can maintain focus. Not sure if my favorite High School, College AND Pro teams lost focus or not during Thanksgiving week (I'm not qualified or free to say), BUT...they all lost! Making last week the worst football week I've experienced in a long time. To say the least, I was a little disillusioned with the whole football thing!

I've also allowed issues that ARE important in our country to cause ME to lose focus over the last few weeks, perhaps we all have. I've allowed our nation's obsession with the Ferguson issue, acceptance of homosexuality, and even very non-eternal matters like the College football playoffs to cloud my vision of what is really important. Just as opposing teams love to play against a distracted team, I was reminded today by the Holy Spirit that Satan loves distracted Christians...especially when he can divert our attention off of Jesus and what He's called each of us to.

For non-Christians who may read this, first of all, I apologize for MY misdirected focus and I feel convinced that some of us who passionately seek to truly be Christ's "ambassadors" desire to apologize also. The issues of anger, selfishness, racism, vengeance, immorality that I and other Christians have railed against are merely symptoms of a sick society held hostage by the father of lies who has many in our nation imprisoned, blinded and under the power and influence of evil (Eph. 2:1-3). MY responsibility, as well as the church, is to point/love Satan's captives to Jesus and not shout at who we identify as the "bad guys" in our culture as we do on the football field toward the opposing teams and even those who officiate the games.

I'm praying I/we will refocus on the Gospel and what Christ wants to do through those of us who've been freed by the Gospel and commissioned to lovingly and consistently express it to the world. To quote a motivational line from a favorite television football show, maybe as Christians we should fulfill the Great Commission with this mentality, "Clear eyes, full hearts, CAN'T (WON'T) lose!"