“You don’t know what you have until it’s gone” is a paradox.
We obviously know what we have because we are currently experiencing “having it”.
I think it’s more that you don’t appreciate what you have until it’s gone.
This morning I’ve been trying to think about what life would
be like if Christmas didn’t happen every year. I heard an upset atheist on NPR
the other day talking about how we’re really celebrating the Winter Solstice at
the end of December, and maybe that plays in to when we celebrate, I’m not
sure. (Still waiting on my first happy winter solstice card) But for the sake
of trying to “appreciate what I don’t have”, what if we just celebrated the
winter solstice with the pagan symbol of a tree symbolizing fertility and the
sun’s particular location instead of the birth of the Judeo-Christian messiah
and the charitable Irish Saint Nicholas?
If the birth of a small Jewish boy named Jesus in the tiny Middle
Eastern country east of the Mediterranean Sea over 2,000 years ago didn’t
happen, how different would our lives look? While fascinating, my focus in this
question isn’t a political one in regard to how different the world would look,
but rather one for personal reflection. The biggest change for me would all
boil down to one word: hope.
“Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best
of things. And no good thing ever dies.”
-Andy
Dufresne, The Shawshank Redemption
In The Shawshank
Redemption, the main character Andy Dufresne had hope that he wouldn’t
spend the rest of his life in prison. As a Christian, my hope for today and all
eternity is in that Middle Eastern child. That the historical accounts of his
life were correct in that he lived in a perfect way, without any sin or moral
error against a perfect God. And that when he was executed by the Roman government,
his life was the complete, satisfactory payment for the wrong doing that I
commit and that exist on my account with the sovereign Creator of the universe.
Without his sacrifice, I believe that I have no hope before this fair and
just God. Without the famously celebrated birth on Christmas, that hope
is gone.
“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your
minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s
physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish
and free from accusation – if you continue in your faith, established and firm,
not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.” Colossians 1:21-23
Instead, the life,
death, resurrection and teachings of Jesus give me hope. I think I've slipped into routine regarding Christmas. I’ve been concerning myself with the
logistics and scheduling that tend to be a topic of conflict for newlyweds and making
prideful comments about completing my shopping so far ahead of time. But I want
to focus on what it really means and what it really brought. That when my cutest
family members are excited to open their presents, that my heart will rejoice
in the greatest present ever given.
Merry Christmas!
-Steven
