The Day After Christmas
Today is the aftermath of Christmas!
The pile of wrapping paper, leftovers, family gatherings still to happen, and the kids hanging out on their break.
Oh yes, Christmas is over and now we’re on to New Year’s.
But how should we think about The Day After Christmas?
This is the reality Mary and Joseph lived after Jesus was born and it’s what the disciples lived through after his ascension.
They had these climatic moments with Jesus and then there was the day after. What was next and they had to navigate that.
We have to navigate this too.
We can’t stay at Christmas all the time as life moves on. We have work, school, vacations end, and days off run out. We all go back to the rhythm of our lives.
We also navigate this in our faith. Jesus was born, lived, died, was raised from the dead, and ascended to God. So now what?
The Day After Christmas speaks to this question about what we do now!
“9. After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”
Acts 1:9-11
These verses reference the ascension of Jesus, the disciple’s response, and the direction they received from angels.
They were paralyzed in awe of seeing Jesus go to Heaven. In doing this they weren’t moving forward but staying in the moment that had just passed. We would have done the same thing.
But God sent angels to give direction on what was next. They challenged them, “Why are you standing here staring into heaven?”
It was time to move on to what was next. This included them fulfilling their calling and seeing the Church born and multiplied.
Jesus had more for them and they did it.
The Day After Christmas reminds us that it’s the same today. Jesus has more for us. He is the head of His church and we are the plan God has for the world to be reached with the Gospel.
This plan includes God using you and me to reach others for Him. Our neighbors, co-workers, family, friends and strangers. He’s ready to pour out His spirit upon us in great ways, our part is to go.
We can’t afford to be standing still staring at points, patterns, style, and other minor issues, proving who is right and who is wrong.
This is a mistake. Our part is to GO and do what Jesus has called us to do, which is to be His church in our world!
The Day After Christmas is our reality but it’s also our heart posture. It’s easy to be stuck in yesterday. It’s easy to keep Jesus at a certain place, or distance in our lives. It’s easy to be apathetic to the things of God and begin to go through the motions. But we’re called to more. We’re called to Jesus. We’re called to make a difference and be the hands and feet of Jesus to those around us.
The Kingdom of God is seen in doing the will of God versus debating it, arguing it, talking about it, or giving our opinion about it. The Holy Spirit shows up in the GOING of our lives.
We must GO and DO what Jesus said.
This is simple because Jesus set this up for anyone to be effective.
We see The Day After Christmas and we go forward to what’s next.
Here are practical ways we do this.
1st – Love on those in your life.
This includes family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and those we see in the routines of our lives.
We do this by being kind, showing genuine interest in them, having conversations, helping them, serving them, and connecting with them.
Jesus has brought people to ALL of us, the question is, what are we doing with them?
God is seen through our love for others. God is also seen in the love we show each other as Christians.
Notice that the invisible God is seen through love.
2nd – Be involved in a local church.
The local church is the hope of the world. It’s imperfect but Jesus is perfect. It won’t always meet your standards, but Jesus always does. The Church is about Jesus, not us.
Our part is to be involved in what He’s involved in. To love what He loves. To give to what He cares about. To serve what He died for. To grow closer to Him and in doing so, we grow personally with ourselves and with others.
Our lives are better when we’re involved in a life-giving church, a healthy church, a balanced church, a spirit-led church, a giving church, a Bible-based church, and an outreach church.
We all need the local church to thrive in our faith and be fruitful.
Take your next step, whatever that is, and let Jesus use you!
3rd – See the big picture.
The big picture is saving people. We’re called to reach them and show who Jesus is. Our heart must be toward this.
Because of this, we must think generationally and help the church grow forward. We cannot afford for churches to age out and to whither. We have one generation to reach a generation and the time is now.
Each of us has a part to play. What we give, how we serve, how we hold up our leaders, how we stay in unity, and how we keep our hearts clean is a BIG deal. The impact of all of these things goes further than we know for good or for bad.
This is why we must see the Day After Christmas as a moment to move ahead and do the work of God. Just how we will get back in our weekly routines, we must get back to what Jesus has called us to do.
Be the church! Be a doer of His will.
Seeing the BIG picture engages our faith and our hearts. It helps us grow and be who God has called us to be.
We’re better when we see the big picture. The time is NOW and we each have a part to play in the church being generational!
You can make a difference!
It’s my hope your New Year’s is the best yet and I pray that The Day After Christmas is your moment to be closer to Jesus.
Have a great day and the best is yet to come!
PD
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