Dear Cobham Park Church Family,
January is half over and Christmas is receding in the rearview mirror. And yet, here I am still not done taking down and packing away all of our Christmas decorations. But I will say this: this chore has been far easier since I switched to an artificial Christmas tree.
At my house, “real” Christmas trees used to be a sacred Williams tradition. Why? Evergreens are beautiful and aromatic. They bring the magical experience of a wintry forest into one’s home. But a natural Christmas tree requires a troublesome ordeal of searching, measuring, paying, sawing, dragging, loading, unloading, pruning, shaking, carrying, balancing, stabilizing, cleaning, watering, decorating, undecorating, removing, and disposing. Other fringe benefits include sticky sap, messy needles, spills, bugs, and allergic reactions. Because real trees are such a mess, I went artificial.
We’d like our lives to be as predictable and convenient as an artificial tree, but real life is more of a troublesome ordeal. This world may be a beautiful—even magical—place, but real life’s pains, griefs, evils, and unanswered questions make for a mess. And as life-seasons recede in the rearview mirror, we turn our minds to what must be finally taken down and disposed of. That’s why we pray, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12; ESV).
Yes, I know this letter is starting to be a downer. But this is where God’s love breaks in! As messy as real life is, Jesus Christ meets us, saves us, and leads us here! The Living Bible puts this well in John 1:14a: “And Christ became a human being and lived here on earth among us and was full of loving forgiveness and truth…”
People are constantly looking for an “artificial faith” that is more convenient, controllable, and pain-free than the real thing. We want to be comfortable at all costs—even if it kills us. In America’s consumer-driven religious marketplace, we are tempted with tinsel-covered idols like pride, possessions, pleasure, politics, or even big-show religion that has little to do with our real God. Jesus won’t meet us in artificial faith. He hates its manmade philosophies and plastic hypocrisy. God will save us in our real lives, or not at all!
As you find yourself annoyed or depressed by your messy life, remember that this is where Jesus loves you and works! Don’t trade Him for something artificial!
In His Love,
Pastor Keith
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