The store is filled with music…

It’s only early November, but from the overhead speakers comes an instrumental version of Handel’s Messiah…

I know the words…

“And the glory of the lord shall be revealed…” Isaiah 40:5

I start to sing…

Then a nearby shopper gives me a look…

(Have I ever told you about my complete lack of musical talent?)

I get the message…

I stop singing.

But the words of the music still fill my mind as I walk down an aisle filled with Christmas decorations…

In the middle of the aisle, I walk past a plastic Santa Claus…

As I pass, he starts singing and dancing…

“Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way…”

Overhead, the store’s audio system is still playing the Messiah…

Glory to God in the highest… Luke 2:14

Down below, Santa joins the Chorus…

Jingle all the way…

The Messiah and Jingle Bells at the same time?

Where should I focus?

I love carols like Jingle Bells and White Christmas…

I love Christmas decorations and trees and holiday parties…

I love what the world has to offer at Christmas time…

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, Romans 12:2

Why does God send us out into a secular world?

A world where we have to make choices?

I am wondering that now… as I pull out a Messiah study guide from a class I took long ago…

Something falls to the floor…

It is a church bulletin from a Christmas service 15 years ago…

“Fill The Earth”, its cover says, “With Heaven’s Peace…”

Perhaps that’s one reason God sends us out into a secular world…

To share His message of love and grace and peace…

To share it everywhere…

To share it with everyone…

To share it through our everyday lives…

Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” Isaiah 6:8