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
