All I want for Christmas

Do you remember the old song, “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth”?

Like many other people, Christmas is my favorite time of year. And also like many other people, I often find myself in that all too familiar conversation that begins with the question, “Honey, what do you want for Christmas?” You know, in all the years I’ve had that particular conversation, I have never responded with “this year I’d really like to have a new set of front teeth.” Nevertheless, I’ve always had a really good answer to the question. There has always been something that I wanted for Christmas. Because of my materialistic tendencies, it was usually something that couldn’t, or shouldn’t, afford. I’m the kind of guy who totally buys in to the commercialization and materialism that we call Christmas in America.

This year things were different. This year when my wife asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I came up with a great big nothing. Nada. A blank stare. When she asked me again later, I still had nothing. Truth is, I don’t really want anything this year… really. That’s not normal… at least for me. OK. I do confess. I really can’t say “nothing”, because if I were honest, I would really like a copy of Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology. I’ve been wanting a copy of it ever since I started seminary, but I can’t really ask for that from my wife because first of all it’s just plain weird and more importantly I eventually have to buy it for seminary anyway. It just wouldn’t make a good Christmas gift. Other than that, though, I got nothing. That’s when it hit me… is it possible that I really am cured of my materialistic tendencies?

You have to know, I was the epitome of the Rich Young Ruler of Matthew 19. He was a powerful man enslaved by the “Lust of the Eyes”. So was I. Although there was an element of fear involved, it was primarily the love of money that kept me from accepting God’s call on my life to vocational ministry when I was 17 years old. Instead, I chose a career that, at the time, had one of the highest “out of college” average starting salaries. I did pretty well for myself. The more money I made, the more it imprisoned me and the more difficult it became to let go of it. Like Gomer in the book of Hosea, I masked my adulterous spirit in feigned godliness and ended up a slave to it. I claimed that God was Lord of my life, but my real god was Money (as well as my stomach, but that is a story about “lust of the flesh” and better left for another time). As Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, you cannot serve both God and money. I was miserable. My success brought me absolutely no happiness, and as a result I made everyone around me just as miserable.

Like the Rich Young Ruler, the only way I could truly surrender to God’s will for my life would be to literally give Him everything. If I withheld anything from Him, that thing would become a foothold for Satan. Giving up your gods can be hard, and for me it was the hardest thing I had ever done. Once it was done, though, it was a huge burden removed - an iron weight that no longer tied me down.

However, it was not enough just to give up what I had. I had to change my very way of thinking. Otherwise, I would eventually end up right back where I started, with a huge ball and chain tied to my ankle. “Lust of the eyes” is a powerful temptress. Shiny toys. Trinkets large and small. There is always something to want.

Therefore, when I realized that there was nothing material that I really wanted, I found myself in a quandary. What do I really want for Christmas? Well, I want my loved ones to have what they want. Is that still idolatry? I don’t think so. I just want them to know I love and appreciate them. God gave the gift of His Son to us because He loved us and so in return I want to give to those whom I love.

What else do I want? The more I think about it, the more the same thing comes to mind. It is something that Paul said in Philippians 3:7-11.

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." (NIV)

In celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ this year, what more could we ask for than to wish to become more like Jesus Christ? If that means losing all we have… well, it’s not exactly in keeping with the theme of the season, but so be it. If it means suffering… that’s not exactly jolly, but Paul says it is necessary in order for us to really know Christ. But to know the power of the resurrection! To really experience new life in Christ in ways none of us can comprehend! THAT… is the most wonderful gift I could possibly imagine. The evil temptress is still out there - lurking in the malls, invading my home via television and radio, doing everything she can to seduce me away from the love of Christ. However, I don’t believe I am being hypocritical to say that, at least for this year, all I want for Christmas is to know Christ in a new and more powerful way.