Ron's Reflections
COUNTING THE DAYS
I am writing my reflections for December (which one would think should focus on Christmas) about nine days before Thanksgiving. I feel about as confused as our merchants who are already putting up Christmas decorations. The Thanksgiving decorations went up before Halloween and the Halloween ones shortly after Labor Day. Then we add to the mix that my January Reader’s Digest will be arriving any day now. What season is it? As I count the days, is it for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, or…? So let me count the days for each and share how each one blesses us. This newsletter is in your box on November 23, so….
There are four more days until Thanksgiving. We all know the roots of this national holiday and, even in these difficult times, we have much to be thankful for as a nation. Our Christian faith perspective emphasizes the bountiful blessings God bestows on us. In several of the Psalms we hear this refrain, “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” Perhaps 2 Corinthians 2:14 sums up our view through Jesus, “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.”
There are thirty two more days until Christmas. That means only thirty one more shopping days, but that misses the point. After telling us the Word (Jesus) was God, John 1:14 declares, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The incarnation (God taking on human flesh) allowed for Jesus to pay the penalty for our sin. That is cause to rejoice!
There are thirty nine more days until New Year’s Day. The transition into a new year has traditionally been a time to reflect back on the last year and look ahead to the new. I am always reminded of God’s faithfulness in my life and how that gives me hope for tomorrow. I resonate with what the Prophet Jeremiah said in Lamentations 3:21-22, “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
May Christ’s blessings be yours as you count the days, Pastor Ron
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