White Christmas??

I thought I would never have to pray for a white Christmas in North Wisconsin. But I did.

There was always a Christmas vacation from school. The most important activities during the Christmas season were outdoors: tobogganing, sledding, skating with a fire beside the rink, and outdoor youth parties with freshly prepared chili, along with hot cocoa and marshmallows. We would bundle up with layers of clothing to combat the cold – exhilarating fun. But – with no snow – none of those things happened.

There was only one Christmas like that in my youth. Before Christmas vacation, we played ball in the school play yards (like summertime) until the vacation. Surely, the weather wouldn’t stay like this. But it did.

The only thing worse than that was a Christmas vacation when my sister and I both came down with mumps. Mumps were terrible enough, but they didn’t happen during school time. The disease waited until the vacation started. We put up with it all two weeks of vacation. But we got well in time to go back to school again. What a bummer!

Then there was a Christmas when we didn’t want snow, but we got it anyway – in superabundance!

By this time, I was married with three children, and we were living in north Texas. Excitedly, we prepared to head north to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the holiday. We always looked forward to that time with my wife’s parents. But now, it was a necessity. My mother-in-law (the kids called her Grandma) was now a widow of 2-3 years, and we didn’t want her to be alone at Christmas time.

The snow started a few days before Christmas and piled up several inches. I did not relish driving the 200 miles to Tulsa on snowy, slippery highways. Then it got colder –  – and colder. This was not going to be a joy ride! Northerners know how to drive on snowy, slippery roads, but Southerners – not so much. You could be driving very safely when some other driver lost control and smacked into you.

The time for the trip came and the weather had not changed.   We loaded up our three kids and dog and headed north. It was a slow go. But we managed to make our way near to Tulsa. About ten miles south of Tulsa, the car protested and quit. I was not able to get it started. It was already dark, and there was not much traffic. Prospects for getting help were slim. Cell phones didn’t exist at that time. Finally, a car stopped. It was a woman alone, and she offered to take us into town. Then I told her we had three children and a dog with us. I could almost see her wanting to back down on her offer, but she didn’t.

When we finally arrived at my mother-in-law’s home, her house was cold.   She had lost power, and the cold was settling in. But we were thrilled just to be there safely.

It was a busy Christmas vacation. I was able to get my car towed and fixed. We worked on thawing the water pipes at Grandma’s house. Then, I crawled under her double-wide trailer home and wrapped heat tapes around the water supply lines. Our actual Christmas celebration inside the house turned out to be great. After a few days, we headed home. Upon arriving, we discovered that our water lines froze and one pipe was busted. No matter how you express it, this had been a memorable Christmas.

But whether you have a white Christmas, a no-snow Christmas, or many or few presents, that has nothing to do with having a glorious, fantastic Christ-honoring Christmas. We can get so tied up in all the bustle of the crowds, the many shopping trips, Christmas parties, Christmas services, and family events that the true meaning of Christmas gets shoved into the background.

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord!” (Luke 2:11). This was God condescending to become like us so he could rescue us from sin. “Who is like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high, Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!”  (Psalm 113:5-6). “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14).

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:5-11).

THINK OF THIS! The God who created and sustains the universe, took on himself human flesh so he could die for our sins. He paid the debt that you and I could never pay. He left heaven’s glory for you and me, and if we turn from our sins to trust Jesus, He will forgive our sins and give us eternal life.

The Creator God said in Isaiah 1:18, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”  This God answered David’s prayer in Psalm 51:7, “Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”

Whether you have a white Christmas or not is only a temporary thing. But if you trust Jesus as your own Savior from sin, get washed in the blood of the Lamb, get cleansed from your sin to become white as snow, you have more blessings than a thousand white Christmases! You have the promise of eternal life in heaven with Christ. Have you trusted Jesus? If not, do it today!