RENOVARÉ
By Richella Parham
In the midst of holiday preparations, I considered the fact that our Christmas tree was standing in the living room but not fully decorated. I thought to myself, “I feel guilty that we haven’t already finished the decorating and put all the boxes away.” And then I realized how many times over the past few days I’ve heard people speak of feeling guilty. “I feel guilty that I didn’t put up a tree this year,” or, “I feel guilty that our tree is artificial,” or, “I feel guilty that we cut down a live tree for Christmas.” “I feel guilty that I haven’t made any Christmas cookies,” or, “I feel guilty that I’ve eaten too many Christmas cookies.” “I feel guilty that I can’t give my kids what they want for Christmas,” or, “I feel guilty that I’ve bought my kids too much for Christmas.” Is there no end to it? Of course, we feel guilty because we are guilty, and we know it. The small issues of Christmas decorations and gifts simply trigger larger feelings of guilt. Every single one of us is flawed. We all come up short. Not one of us is perfect. But the very reason we celebrate Christmas is that the Lord of all Creation loved us enough to save us. He didn’t leave us in our flaws and shortcomings. The Christ of Christmas is the One who came to earth and lived as a human in order to show us what a life without shortcomings would look like. And then he gave up his life in order for us to be released from the guilt of our own sins and to live in freedom.
4 : EXPRESSIONS