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| << December22, 2003 - Sand Dollar: The Beggar's Rags |
December26, 2003 - Sand Dollar: Great Gifts for our Children >> |
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A Christmas Gift for the Guilty Some dread Christmas. These aren??™t modern Scrooges, humbugging the season; they just have trouble handling the tender feelings that accompany this special time of the year. Melancholy moods surface at Christmas, creating fertile fields for guilt to grow and flourish. Regret, sadness and even depression can be annual holiday visitors for those who are tormented by guilt associated with Christmases past. Since Christmas brings a flood of memories, the good replays are likely to be accompanied by unpleasant ones and may even be crowded out by them. Feeling guilty over past failures can put a damper on family gatherings meant to be happy occasions. We??™re all candidates for this kind of self-imposed guilt. Most of us have said things to family members we??™d like to forget and memories of these unfortunate lip slips aren??™t above coming to family times around the Christmas tree. Seeing parents whose expectations of us were higher than our achievements can produce pangs of guilt. And this road runs both ways. Parents may feel guilty over not providing enough for their children during youth or not adequately protecting them from the pain they experienced upon leaving home. Then there are the memories of commitments and cherished dreams discussed in the past that have never been carried out or realized, making us uncomfortable around those who heard our boasts of long ago. What can we do about recurring guilt that robs us of the joy of Christmas? Should we pretend these regrettable experiences that show up to spoil the holidays didn??™t happen? Should we try to quiet our tender consciences by lowering our standards or comparing ourselves to others whose blunders of the past seem even more embarrassing than those that trouble us? Would we be helped by pushing all painful memories aside so we never feel guilty about anything? Honesty demands rejecting all of the above. We can??™t kid ourselves into thinking all unpleasant memories are but mental mirages. Lowering our standards to excuse our transgressions against God and others will only violate our integrity, causing greater guilt. Stifling guilt by sheer determination may be more disastrous than bearing its pain because we risk losing our natural sensitivity to right and wrong. Thankfully there is a better way. And it??™s found in the message of Christmas. The One born in Bethlehem??™s manger continually ministered to guilty people, sending them on their way guilt free. This is the liberating reason for the season The stable-born Savior was the figure of forgiveness, setting those who trusted and followed Him free. ???If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed,??? He said (John 8:36). Consider how this became true for Mary Magdalene with her sad past, for Peter with his blustery temper and for the thief who came to faith while dying beside the old rugged cross. Grace meets guilt with forgiveness. And forgiveness is what Christmas is all about. How sad to allow guilt and grudges to spoil family holiday gatherings! Accept the gift of forgiveness by faith and experience the joy of Christmas. ?© 2003 Roger Campbell |
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December26, 2003 - Sand Dollar: Great Gifts for our Children >> |
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