Whew. What a relief to change directions, even if only for 24 hours of spirited celebration. Giving surges to the forefront. Churches attract their biggest attendance of the year. Prayers uncounted lift off from grateful hearts.
For some, the day will really be no different, however. Anne Graham Lotz, the powerful Bible-teaching daughter of evangelist Billy Graham, has spent years of her life tracking the spiritual path of Abraham the patriarch.
Her newest book, The Magnificent Obsession, writes that Abraham's gift to future generations is the lesson of the joy and necessity of total obedience to God. Not easy. God, she writes, "can be hard to listen to."
There's a passage that particularly caught my attention because I recalled a conversation with Lotz years ago when she mentioned that each year she forces herself out of her comfort zone to reach out to someone.
In her new book, she writes:
In times past, God has commanded me to love someone who has rejected me, to forgive someone who has wronged me, to serve someone who resents me, to help someone who has not helped me, to remain silent and absorb unjust abuse.
It may seem incongruous to talk about the painful challenges of faith on the eve of Christian's celebration of the birth of Christ, whom they believe was God's greatest gift -- and God's ultimate sacrifice as the Son who came to die for humanity's sins.
So somewhere in the groundswell of Christmas music, you can also track the mournful note, foreshadowing Easter to come. Somewhere in the partying and present-unwrapping glee of the next 24 hours, you can glimpse people who have humbled themselves to give sacrificially to others all year long.
Take today to thank them, bless them -- and tell us about them here, if you like -- and may your Christmas -- or any holy day you celebrate -- be full of joy.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/Religion/post/2009/12/norad-santa-tracker-christmas-eve-billy-graham/1