Christmas was coming down.
The ornaments having been removed, it was time to unwind the string of lights in-bedded in the tree. Putting them up had been a family affair; two people on either side of the tree simply handed the steadily-shrinking coil of lights from one to another as the green wires were laid among the branches. But by now the family had all gone home; newly retired, I was undressing the tree at my leisure. Since there was nobody on the other side to pass the lights to, I removed as much as I could from one side, then laid the coil on the ground and went to the other side where I picked it up again and continued to remove them from there. So it was as I was rounding the tree to do so again at one point that the sight of them lying on the ground seemed oddly familiar to me, like something I’d seen before. I stopped and stared at the coil for a minute… the green circle of wires with lights sticking up at odd angles in its midst. Suddenly I realized that it looked like pictures of the crown of thorns that was placed on Jesus’ head at the time of His crucifixion.
How amazing that God could use even a string of Christmas lights to remind me of the reason of the season… that Jesus was born so that He could later die in my place. The gift of salvation was truly under my Christmas tree in more ways than one. What a blessed reminder that even as I was putting Christmas away, it’s purpose had come to stay… in my mind and my heart, and in all the days ahead in the New Year.
“For unto you is born in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”
(Luke 2:11 KJV)
