Every month the husband would take a day off from work to accompany his wife to the doctors.   A sense of silent awe filled the examination room the first time they heard the baby’s heart beat.   With giddiness they showed their parents the babies first sonogram picture saying, ‘Here is your grandchild’s first picture.’

Every month they busied themselves making the house ready.   The catch-all room was turned into the baby’s room.   The ceiling was painted.   A neutral color wallpaper was hung. Two decorative borders were picked out, one design if it was a boy, the other if it was a girl. The furniture was bought and delivered.   The curtains were hung.   The room was all ready.

Each passing month could be measured not just in the growing size of the wife’s abdomen, but by the completed preparations. They baby shower, literally showered them with an abundance of baby’s clothing and necessities. With enough time to stow all the gifts and a week after the last Lamaze class off they went to the hospital with contraction coming ten minutes apart.

Five hours later a new baby rested on the mother’s chest as a dotting father looked on. They were ecstatic.   During the next two days the baby was never out of the parent’s sight except for a moment or two when the nurse had to perform some procedure.   The family came like herds to the hospital to see the baby.   Then it was time to go home.   The parents looked at their baby in the hospital bassinet, kissed it on the forehead.   Told the baby they loved it and went home and left the baby there.

Sounds absurd doesn’t it?   What kind of parents go through all that preparation just to leave the baby behind?   Perhaps the same kind of person who goes through all the trouble of preparing for Christmas, and leaves Christ behind.

I am sorry I just don’t get it.  Why go through all the fuss to celebrate the birth of Jesus? Why return to Christmas and not return to Christ?

Do you think God is impressed with our preparations for Christmas?

Do you honestly believe that God is wowed by our business?

I’m not sure that God moves about the neighborhood going woo and aah as He looks at houses all lit up with Christmas displays. I’m not sure God would say, while watching us prepare for Christmas, ‘This is a Kodak moment.’ I am positive that this is not what God had in mind when John the Baptist said,

"Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him."

Just last Sunday I asked the senior youth group, "What are they doing to prepare for Christmas?" I got the answers I expected, shopping, wrapping gifts, decorating. Then I asked, "What are you doing to prepare yourself for Christ?" I got the answer I kind of expected but hoped I wouldn’t get, silence. When I pushed them a little harder a youth said, "I guess we don’t know what to do to prepare ourselves."

That statement got me thinking. How do you prepare yourself for Christmas? or as John said to

"Prepare the way for the Lord?"

I believe that in order to answer that question, you need to know exactly what you are preparing for. What motivates your faith? What motivates your belief in Jesus?

I remember talking to a couple about baptizing their baby and the husband expressed a view that baptism was like a vaccination or an insurance policy against possible danger to their child. While few are bold enough to say that I suspected that many people think that, as I think a good number of people are motivated to believe in Jesus because they are afraid of the future and not because they desire to be a better person.

Malachi reminds us that Jesus came not just to bring, peace on earth goodwill to mankind. The Lord Jesus, came to refine us.

"He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver."

The prophet Malachi is not playing the role of the ‘Grinch’ when He echoed the Words of God that the Lord,

"comes near to you for judgment."

Given the present situation, which was characterized by unfaithfulness, deceit, forsaken vows, broken relationship with God, injustice, and oppression Malachi wondered,

Who can endure the day of His coming?

Malachi spoke these words to give the listener, to give you and me an opportunity to repent, to change our ways. ." He is not trying to scare people, note how the verse ends....

but do not fear me," says the Lord Almighty.

Not knowing how metals are refined, I turned to a commentary which said, "raw metal is heated with fire until it melts. The impurities separate from it and rise to the surface. They are skimmed off, leaving the pure metal. As the impurities are skimmed off the top, the reflection of the worker appears in the smooth pure surface." It went on then to point out that as we are purified by God, His reflection in our lives will become more and more clear to those around us.

Is that your goal in preparing for Christmas? To be purified by God, so His reflection can be more apparent in your life?

My wish is: that we are preparing more than our homes for Christmas; that we are preparing our hearts and lives for Christ; that the ultimate purpose for your preparations is to see God’s salvation.  As the Psalmist reminds us in Psalm 51:16,17

"You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;

You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

You can never impress God with outward actions - no matter how good - if your inward heart attitude is not right. So the question is will you return to Christmas, or will you return to Christ?

amen