At school these past few weeks, we have been getting ready for the holidays. One day, we met with our advisory groups to make decorations for our school. We were told we could only use the colors blue, white, and neutral colors on the banners, and the phrase "Peace on Earth". They gave us some drawings we could use as models on the posters. One of the other restrictions, was that we couldn't put any religious symbols on the decorations. The ironic part of this project was that the permitted drawings were a dove, candle, star, and the earth. Those aren't religious at all, are they? I leaned over to one of my Christian friends and said, "How are these not religious?" My friend and I started laughing at the irony of the whole thing. The truth is that no one can escape from God and you can't take the Christ out of Christmas. Even if you can't say "Merry Christmas" (and have to say "Happy Holidays") or can't draw "religious symbols" on posters, God still reveals himself through other things...even at a secular school or anywhere else God isn't welcome.
In the Bible, the magi who were following a star weren't looking for Jesus. They were astronomers and all they cared about was the star. The magi were not believers. They were not even Jewish. Think about that for a second. When I learned this, I was stunned for the rest of the day. I had thought that the wise men were looking for Jesus and they believed he was the Messiah...but they actually were not looking for Jesus. When they saw the baby Jesus lying in the manger, they fell on their knees and worshiped Him and gave Him gifts. Even though they were atheists essentially, they were awestruck by Jesus, the newborn king. To me, that is pretty powerful. This history draws a parallel to what happened at my school. My school tries to "ban" religious symbols but whether you realize or even accept it, Jesus is imminent during Christmastime. Everywhere you go, whether or not you're looking for Him, He is there. You cannot evade God...everyone will eventually face Him sometime. Even if you can't draw religious symbols on posters or say "Merry Christmas," God reveals Himself in amazing ways like He did to the magi. Some people will acknowledge it (like the magi) and others will not accept it (like secular schools) but in the end,
God is present to everyone during the holiday season.
At school these past few weeks, we have been getting ready for the holidays. One day, we met with our advisory groups to make decorations for our school. We were told we could only use the colors blue, white, and neutral colors on the banners, and the phrase "Peace on Earth". They gave us some drawings we could use as models on the posters. One of the other restrictions, was that we couldn't put any religious symbols on the decorations. The ironic part of this project was that the permitted drawings were a dove, candle, star, and the earth. Those aren't religious at all, are they? I leaned over to one of my Christian friends and said, "How are these not religious?" My friend and I started laughing at the irony of the whole thing. The truth is that no one can escape from God and you can't take the Christ out of Christmas. Even if you can't say "Merry Christmas" (and have to say "Happy Holidays") or can't draw "religious symbols" on posters, God still reveals himself through other things...even at a secular school or anywhere else God isn't welcome.
In the Bible, the magi who were following a star weren't looking for Jesus. They were astronomers and all they cared about was the star. The magi were not believers. They were not even Jewish. Think about that for a second. When I learned this, I was stunned for the rest of the day. I had thought that the wise men were looking for Jesus and they believed he was the Messiah...but they actually were not looking for Jesus. When they saw the baby Jesus lying in the manger, they fell on their knees and worshiped Him and gave Him gifts. Even though they were atheists essentially, they were awestruck by Jesus, the newborn king. To me, that is pretty powerful. This history draws a parallel to what happened at my school. My school tries to "ban" religious symbols but whether you realize or even accept it, Jesus is imminent during Christmastime. Everywhere you go, whether or not you're looking for Him, He is there. You cannot evade God...everyone will eventually face Him sometime. Even if you can't draw religious symbols on posters or say "Merry Christmas," God reveals Himself in amazing ways like He did to the magi. Some people will acknowledge it (like the magi) and others will not accept it (like secular schools) but in the end, God is present to everyone during the holiday season.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Let's make this interactive!