Do You See What I See?

By Missey Butler
Guest Writer

CBN.com -- “A star, a star, glimmers in the night, He will bring us goodness and light. He will bring us goodness and light.”

The above lyrics are taken from a meaningful Christmas carol that describes the coming visitation of the Savior of all mankind. Yet, even with the world’s splendid array of holiday tinsel, glitz and glimmer, none of it can touch the beauty and magnificence that lay in a humble manger under the brilliantly starry sky on a silent night centuries ago. Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given. A most precious gift of untold value lay at the feet of all humanity.

As I was sitting in my car at a stoplight, in the middle of congested holiday traffic, I began to think about “expectations.” And how we all (especially at this time of the year), work so hard to meet each others expectations, the desired wants and supposed needs of loved ones. Then I couldn’t help but wonder …”How did we get so far away from what Christmas is suppose to mean?” I began to understand why dear old Mr. Scrooge developed that often quoted phrase …”bah humbug.” I was beginning to feel a little “hum-buggish” myself.

As hard as we may try, it is almost impossible to get through the holidays without having a certain amount of expectations. We all seem to have our share of them. What happened to the truth that tells us that Godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we shall take nothing out.

We all know full well that we cannot take any of this material world with us, yet we scurry around and work so hard to accumulate things, and for what reason? Do we do it so we can feel good for a few hours on Christmas morning? Have we lost sight of why we do the things we do? I would like to propose that we all try to do something a little different this year.

What if we lower our expectations … or better yet, how about if we drop them all together. That’s right … no expectations at all! By not having expectations of each other, we won’t set ourselves up for any disappointments or disillusionments. Does that make sense? Then maybe we can become free enough to get on with what the real meaning of Christmas is all about. We should be celebrating the birth of our beloved Savior!

Prayer:

Help us Father, to go beyond our own expectations of ourselves and others. Remove the veil of deception from our eyes and help us to see as you see …that the light of the World has come. His name is Jesus and He truly is “the reason for the season.” Do you see what I see?

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