Branch On The Vine

By: Alli Matthews

If you’re anything like me, you LOVE the Christmas season. You look forward to it every year. You start listening to Christmas music at a time that others deem as “too early”. You can’t wait for the dazzling lights and cozy nights. You’re craving those sweet holiday drinks and pulling out your biggest sweaters. You’re ready to watch your favorite Christmas movies on November 1st. 

I was pondering all of this while sitting with my new friends in Honduras. We were counting pills in the pharmacy to the tunes of the holiday season. My excitement was growing for all the fun Christmas things – baking cookies, decorating, going to a Christmas tree farm – when God suddenly spoke to me through the Holy Spirit. He asked me in the quiet of my mind, “What are you worshiping this Christmas season?” 

Well, that question stopped me in my tracks. 

I think it was his way of gently reminding me why we celebrate Christmas as followers of Jesus. 

Most of us have heard the same message over and over in different phrases. “Jesus is the reason for the season.” “Don’t take Christ out of Christmas.” “It’s not about the presents or decorations; it’s about the birth of our Savior.” In fact, I heard these messages so much that I wrote a whole Christmas play about it as a kid.

But what do those sayings really mean for us? 

How do they impact not only what we believe but also what we think and do during the Christmas season? 

Ever since God asked me what I was worshiping this Christmas season, I’ve been asking him those questions. “God, how can I worship you more in this Christmas season instead of being so wrapped up in the things of this world?”

Before we dive into the answers of some of these questions, we have to define the word worship. Many Christians might jump to thinking of worship as the time in a church service when everyone sings songs to God – which, yes, that can be one form of worship, but there is more to it. 

I did what any Gen Z person would do; I googled it. Google gave two definitions for worship:

• Noun: “the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity.”
• Verb: “show reverence and adoration for (a deity); honor with religious rites.”

Those are helpful, but what does Jesus say about it? When asked what the greatest commandment is, he quotes Deuteronomy 6:5 which says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” 

To worship God is to honor and adore the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength. 

Yes, you can do this through music, but I think worship is actually a way of life. It’s living in a rhythm of adoration for the Lord. It’s honoring Jesus with your words and actions. Loving him with all your heart, soul, and strength. 

So if that’s what worship is, what are you worshiping this Christmas season? Is there something or someone that you are admiring more than God?  

When I think back to past Christmas seasons, I remember times I have given all of my affection to a romantic relationship rather than to Jesus. I remember times I have looked forward more to singing generic Christmas music than to worshiping the Lord with song. I remember being more excited for the family traditions than for the fact that my Savior came down from his heavenly throne to make a way for God to dwell with us. 

These examples are very normal human things. I give these examples not to condemn or shame anyone but to highlight how easy it is to get distracted from worship in the Christmas season. It’s easy to fall into the trap of romanticism and consumerism that our culture likes to slap onto Christmas. 

And let me be clear: relationships, music, and traditions are a beautiful part of the Christmas season. I am NOT saying that we should throw them out the window!

My question for you is, how can you worship God with your relationships, music, and traditions this Christmas season?

How can you honor God at Christmas parties? How can you show him reverence with songs? How can you adore Jesus as you frost cookies and decorate a tree? 

This is not a blog post in which I will give you all the answers. Instead, I’m leaving you with questions to ask yourself. I encourage you to seek answers from the Lord in prayer. 

Ask God how you can worship him this Christmas season. If you seek earnestly, he will open your eyes to a multitude of ways you can worship him through obedience and love.

I’ve been reflecting on the song of Mary, Jesus’ mother, in Luke 1. She worships the Lord so beautifully after learning of her pregnancy with the Messiah and being greeted by her cousin, Elizabeth, who is very old and yet, by God’s grace, pregnant with her first child. 

I love how she reflects on what God has done in her life with gratitude and on his character. That is one way in which I plan to worship the Lord this Christmas season. I will end today’s post with a portion of Mary’s example of worship:

And Mary said, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me- holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.”

Luke 1:46-50

References

Google Search, Google, http://www.google.com/search?q=define%2Bworship&oq=define%2B&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqBggAEEUYOzIGCAAQRRg7Mg0IARAuGK8BGMcBGIAEMgYIAhBFGDkyDAgDEAAYChixAxiABDIJCAQQABgKGIAEMgYIBRBFGDsyDQgGEC4YrwEYxwEYgAQyBggHEAUYQNIBCDI0NTVqMWo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8. Accessed 10 Dec. 2023.