By Mic Thurber
I don’t know if you have the same reaction I do, but I cringe when I hear the first Christmas song being played in a store! Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Christmas music, and I tend to listen to it all year long.
But if all I heard was department-store Christmas music, I think I’d lose all love for the season! It’s just plain hard for me to take the juxtaposition of sacred themes with mere commerce.
While once in a while, I hear a newer Christmas song that speaks to me, it’s the old ones, the Christmas hymns, that get to my heart. For they tell the story most precious, sweetest that ever was heard!
When I listen to the songs I most love and let them speak to my spiritual core, then I’m once again reminded of the great gift of the condescension of Jesus. If you need a refresher, just read Philippians 2:5-11. When I meditate on it, realizing that He did all that to give me (and you, too!) a new start, a reason for hope and joy, and fresh strength to face whatever lies ahead in the coming new year, I am grateful all over again for this season. It nourishes me for today, and also prepares me for the season to come.
All that from a few Christmas hymns!
Don’t let the department store jingles keep you from allowing the sweet message of the Christmas music that really tells you the story of Jesus to seep into your heart. I promise you can find hope and renewal there.
On behalf of the entire Rocky Mountain Conference team, please accept our very best wishes for you and your family during this Christmas and New Years’ season. May your days be filled with thoughts of Him whose mind was filled with thoughts of you as He came to earth to be our salvation.
–Mic Thurber is RMC President
