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Who Are You?

I know it is inevitable that before the end of this month (if not already) there will be Christmas items in every store across the country and around the world. This upcoming season is my favorite and least favorite. It is my favorite because without the birth of Christ, it is virtually impossible to preach His gospel (so it is my favorite because without this part of the story we can’t get to the other part of the story-which is an entirely different blog)! It is my least favorite because so many have left Jesus in the manger as part of a pretty picture and not taken him into the rest of this Holy Day.
I know I have blogged about this before- read last year’s blog posted "Grinch or Gospel".

Too often I think we lack the courage and conviction to stand up for who we are as children of God. Courage by definition is “the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.” Before we even enter into the “Hectic Holiday” season we should commit to having courage to live out the gospel even if it means we don’t attend every party we are invited to, we only give gifts with actual significance to the people we love not everyone in a three block radius of our home, and saying to others “if you want to celebrate this holiday with me, I will be at church worshiping Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.”

There is so much secular hype around this holiday that we, “the faithful followers”, have lost our courage to say how we really feel about the season.
E. E. Cummings said “It takes COURAGE to grow up and become who you really are.”
Perhaps most of us have lost our courage OR have forgotten who we really are. My feeling however is, that it is both. We have forgotten who we are (children of God) and lost our courage (to stand up against those who try to deny who we are).

How would people react if you had the courage to say- “This year I’m celebrating Christmas not with presents and parties and Santa Clause but with the gift God has given me to share the story of Jesus Christ.”?  I will warn you, there is the possibility that someone could call you a “scrooge” for doing this. They could also try to claim that you have lost your “holiday cheer” or “Christmas spirit”. How would you react to their reaction? Would you back down and fold under pressure? Would you stand courageous in your decision of who you are as a child of God and a follower of Jesus Christ?

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are”…So, who are you-really?

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