Tension in the Holiday Season

We are entering a season typically marked by a call towards reflection. As the year comes to a close and we come into the season of Advent as Christians we find ourselves called to look back to the first coming of Christ but also to look forward to the hope of the ultimate fulfillment of the Kingdom of God. In a way, this is a reflection of our lives as followers of Christ. We are marked by a continual movement. We look to the grace we first received and look forward as we continue to be formed more fully into the likeness of Christ.

As I reflect on the year, expressions of gratitude and entering into the Advent season, I see a need to be honest about the tension that many of us feel during this time. On one hand we focus on a radiant hope that speaks for our identity and future. We look to and celebrate the weight of a centuries old promise that God kept and everything that means for us through to today.

Meanwhile, I can't help but consider the counterbalance of a very real tension of heaviness that my house and many like us experience during the Advent/Christmas season. That tension can look many different ways. Maybe it's remembering a tragedy, maybe there's a complicated family dynamic present in the conversation, maybe there's no family dynamic in the conversation. Whatever the case may be many simply put their head down during this time try not to raise it again until January.

As I ponder thoughts and feel the feels, a question presses to the surface...What do we do with the very real tension that can be present during the holidays?

Like I said, many of us come with baggage of a life peppered with very human complications. So in a time of hope, how do we process the duality that many of us endure. As someone in a house that still actively walks between these worlds, I've come to find that the heartbeat of this question lies in who we are to God and our place in the narrative of God’s story for humanity.

First and foremost, Scripture says that we have inherent value to God. The term image bearer of the Creator is used for all of humanity regardless of if you follow Jesus or not. Likewise, the Bible is clear that regardless of where you are presently at with God that you loved more than you can know.

It goes deeper though. We are called sons and daughters of God that have been grafted in a family ranging many walks of life across the world all connected by the Holy Spirit. We have been adopted into an active, present and loving relationship with Him. It is not a passive relationship but an active one that drives to our very core in such a real way that it shapes who we are. See here's the thing..God is a God that actively desires relationship with us. He will continually pursue us. So contrary to what some may have heard, He actively wants to be a part of your life here and now.

The Bible also says that we aren’t in this alone. When we choose to follow Jesus we become something new. We are indwelt with the very spirit of God and because of that we have a guide, advocate, comforter, empowerer and means to mold us more fully into the image of God.

So as we look to the season of Advent and try to make sense of our place in the story as we try to weigh out the realities above with the realities of what this life can look like, it’s vital we take stock of the story. Centuries ago, God made a promise of a Savior that will come and overcome death and build a way back to permanent dwelling with Him. Centuries later, that promise was fulfilled in Jesus and we were given the gift of hope. Hope that we presently can live within the Kingdom here and now but also of the hope of the Kingdom to come.

By way of that we have the means to embrace the very real identity that we have in God.

Now all of that doesn’t free us from the struggle and realities of this life, so what do we do with that?

If I can be honest as I write these thoughts…I really wish I was wrong. I wish present struggles and complication simply melted away at the foot of the cross but as the great philosopher Frank Sinatra once said…That’s Life. Please do not misunderstand where I'm coming from. I know ALL TOO WELL just how real the weight of this season can be. I know ALL TOO WELL how tempting it is put your head down and plow forward through to January. So I'm not for a second trying to belittle what you're experience may be, I'm simply being straight forward about the existence of the complication.

What is also life and reality is our ability as believers to cling to God for dear life and not let go. Simply put we embrace God and we embrace our identity in God, taking His words seriously that if we seek Him…we will find Him. We hold tight to who He says we are and allow the Spirit of God to do exactly what He does. If possible, we embrace the community and the people that God gives us to walk beside.

In closing I leave you with a few final questions that I invite you to ponder:

• Do you know who you are to God?

• Do you believe that identity is true?

• How are you being purposeful about embracing God during this time?

Remember you are prayed for and you are LOVED DEEPLY!