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It's A Wonderful Christmas

 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, (Hebrews 12:28)

          There’s a musical number by Michael W. Smith that I share as part of my Christmas concert. It’s called “It’s A Wonderful Christmas.” It’s a beautiful number that weaves back and forth from the frenzy and chaos of a sort of Toyland Christmas to the simplicity and beauty of the advent of God the Son as the Son of Man. That’s where we are. It’s already started in the stores, but today’s Black Friday, when (traditionally) people lose all semblance of sanity.

          In other words, today is life condensed into 24 hours. Like an amusement park ride, the goal seems to be to see how quickly one can move in every possible direction. The whole idea is to be shaken. Every once in a while, we seem to come to a stop at a point with a sublime view. Time seems to stop as the music grows magnificent, and then we’re swept back into the madness.

          Another bit of media comes to mind. In one of the Christopher Reeves Superman movies, if I remember correctly, Clark Kent inadvertently sets off a chain of slapstick events that continues along with him, ending as he reaches his destination. He’s blissfully ignorant of the comedy going on around him until the very end, and, of course, has no idea that he’s the cause of it all.

          There are times when we’re shaken, and we’re like the people who experience the mishaps along the way. We’re part of the slapstick. There are other times when we may see it all happening as if from across the street. And there are times when we haven’t a clue. We’re either not shaken or we don’t notice.

          We have, however, received a kingdom that can’t be shaken. It doesn’t matter how much crazy life gets. There are times when we’ll see through all that, but even if we don’t, it’s still there. Which we notice is a matter, in part, of what we’re looking for. If our attention is to the whole lot of shaking going on, things will get shakier still. If our attention is to the majesty, we’ll notice it more often.

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