Tonight we put up our tree and got out the ornaments. It's fun to spend some time reflecting on the memories this box of wacky little knick knacks brings. We have a Star Wars Naboo fighter jet, snowmen, rock-climbing Santa, and a few baby's first Christmas'. But the most significant ornament is one we hang towards the back of the tree, in a spot less pronounced. It is our Christmas Nail, and it reminds us WHY we celebrate Christmas.
The story of the Christmas Nail:
"Years ago, in a Colorado town, snow began to fall on a young couple contemplating the approaching Christmas season. As their thoughts meandered from the stable manger to the shopping mall, they knew that their meager wages would prevent them from purchasing costly Christmas gifts. Therefore, they set out to make their own that year.
Later that month, while the young man was in a local hardware store, he spotted a very large nail. It was nearly ten inches long and very heavy. Seeing such a nail, his thoughts were drawn to the crucifixion of Christ. How large those nails much have been- how wicked their purpose. As he wandered around the store, he could not keep the sobering thoughts of that nail from his mind. He decided to buy one of the nails and show it to his wife.
When she saw it, her response was exactly the same.
'Wasn't he born to die?' they asked each other. What better time than at his birth, to recall His reason for coming and the gift He would give.
Those thoughts stayed with them the rest of the evening. Without Christ's death and resurrection, there would be no celebration of Christmas as we know it today. No one would recall the intricate details accompanying the birth of just one more good person. No starry night in Bethlehem would mean anything today if it were not for the end of the story.
Then it struck them- without question or hesitation, this nail would be an ornament- hung on the tree itself. It was weighty and would pull down any normal branch. Therefore it had to be hung deep inside the tree near the trunk. They worried that such placement would not allow it to be seen as all ornaments are intended.
Slowly, a powerful realization washed over both of them. This ornament, like the Savior himself, would not be like any other. It would be obscured, just as Jesus had been obscured among the trappings of the stable and it's animals.
This ornament would become a private devotion for those who hung it. It would serve as a silent reminder each time they looked at their tree, that it was a tree upon which Christ redeemed the world."
No comments:
Post a Comment