Saturday, December 17, 2005

A Christmas to remember

Christmas is upon us. And I cannot help but reflect on what I was doing at this time last year. In a country where Jesus’s birth is not often celebrated, I experienced a new perspective on Christmas in a land half-way around the world. No Christmas trees or lights or music. No gifts. No family. No big dinners. No Christmas Eve service. No holiday.

I was in China, among people who had never even heard the name of Jesus . . . much less celebrated His birth. I know why I celebrate Christmas each year, but I still tend to sometimes get stuck on the “Christmassy things” that surround us in the States. But Christmas in China was definitely different and reminded me to never forget that the holiday exists to celebrate the birth of Christ.

Walking around the temple – just seeing the darkness and the spiritual oppression . . . it was hard not to weep for the lostness. Especially when I saw a mother teaching her 4-year-old son how to go through the motions of bowing before a false god, I wanted to scream out and try to stop her. Didn’t she realize that she was leading her child down a path of darkness that could forever entrap him? But she didn’t know, and she was just trying to love her son the only way that she knew how. And how could I expect her to know different? Had she ever heard about the Good News? And as I walked among the burning incense and the gold statues and the many people searching for something more, I began to pray to our God – the God that is more powerful than theirs. He can change their hearts and minds, and I pray that He will.

To teach people the name of Jesus Christ and the joy of knowing the Savior of our world . . . what better time to share this with them than on Christmas? I expected to be able to capture the action around me on video. And I did. But I didn’t expect to be such an integral part of drawing students toward a closer relationship with God. My heart broke for the people of China, and God worked in and through me in more ways than I can even begin to explain right now. Suffice it to say . . . Christmas will never be quite the same again. And with or without the decorations and lights or the trees and gifts, I will not again lose sight of the reason behind the season.