You.

He was in the world, and though the world was made by him, the world did not recognize him. John 110 this is one of my favorite Christmas verses. I know that our typical Christmas celebrations revolve around happy thoughts and songs about joy to the world where all is calm and all is bright. There's no question that Christmas is a time of great joy and gladness, but it is also a time of great sadness. Not everyone understands what the Christmas fuss is all about. I'm not referring simply to the many Ebenezer Scrooges who put the ba humbug into all the fun. I'm also talking about those people, good people, who just see the holiday as a time of parties and presents. People who are so busy rushing home with their treasures that they don't even notice the lights, the sounds, and the smells that are part of the Christmas season. Even fewer notice the one whose birth triggered the whole Christmas thing in the first place. A few years ago, I was invited to coffee by the pastor of a large church here in town. When he called, he indicated that he wanted to get to know me and talk about some mutual interests. We set up a time and place to meet that week. I arrived ahead of him and greeted him when he got there. A few minutes later, we ordered our coffee and sat at a table, giving us ample opportunity to visit. What soon became very clear to me was the fact that this pastor was sitting right there at the same table with me, but that his mind and attention were somewhere else entirely. I'm not sure he ever looked at me in the eye, and it was obvious that he really wasn't listening to anything I was saying. At one point he looked across the room and said, oh, hey, there's a guy I need to talk to. I'll be right back. And he got up, went over to another table, leaving me to finish my coffee alone. When he came back nearly ten minutes later, I thanked him for the coffee and excused myself. As I turned to wave so long, he was already engaged in an animated conversation with someone else in the cafe. I felt a little cheated for being summoned and then ignored. Don't you think that's how the Lord might feel at Christmas? It's his birthday, after all, and the party should revolve around him. Yet, as we all know, and perhaps are guilty of doing so ourselves at times. A lot of people make Christmas about everyone else but him. They get so wrapped up in all that's going on that they don't even recognize the one who started it all, the one who created the world and who came into the world was not recognized by the world. Let's do our best not to let that happen in our homes this Christmas.

This has been your thought for the day with Steve Burkham, pastor of Community Christian Church in Stockton, California. If you have questions or comments for Pastor Steve, please send them to [email protected] have a great day, and we hope you'll join us tomorrow as Pastor Steve opens God's word to bring us another thought for the day.