The Right Recipe
December 4, 2020
There was a comical holiday cooking incident at the McIntosh house last week when we whipped up a family favorite snack using what we “remembered”. As the ingredients were being mixed together we began to feel like one of our memorized measurements might be wrong. After a quick reassurance that we felt good about the ratio, we plodded on. It wasn’t until the baking cycle was almost half way done that the surety something was wrong set in. The food wasn’t looking like it usually did. When we finally were able to find the recipe it turns out that we had put in twice as much cheese and only used half of the baking mix. The result wasn’t inedible – but it also wasn’t what we had hoped for.
How many of us are trying our best to hold up under the weight of holiday expectations? Did we get the right food, gift, or card. Is the house clean enough, the tree pretty enough, and the pets groomed enough. Have I thought about these things or those things? While we enter this time of year with romanticized notions of figgy pudding, one horse open sleighs, White Christmases, and red-nosed reindeer, the pace often becomes frenetic very quickly. When the accompaniments of the holidays rule our time and energy, we set ourselves up for discouragement when the calendar changes to the new year.
This is a timely reminder about making sure our life has the right ingredients to bring about the right outcome. Take time today to consider what you are hoping for this holiday season – and then make sure you put in the proper ingredients for the desired outcome. Meditate on The Birth of the Baby King. There is great theological truth hidden behind words such as incarnation (John 1:14) and kenosis – also known as emptying (Philippians 2:5-8). Study and learn these deep truths of God. Commit to being at church for the Christmas Eve service. Decide to send the Christmas Cards you’ve put off for the last few years. Be intentional about making sure your holidays are using the right recipe.
Pastor Dave
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