I know it’s a little late to be posting a picture of a Christmas tree, but bear with me. Our church’s Christmas gift is probably just now arriving in Oaxaca, in the south of Mexico.
At the initiative of one of the men in our missional house church, we at ViaCordis decided that instead giving gifts to each other over the holidays, we would give to an orphanage in Mexico. We did a special offering for items that would be most helpful there: powdered milk, baby formula, and peanut butter that will help fight malnourishment.
The picture at the left is of us decorating our church’s Christmas tree with some help from people at a shelter where we volunteer. As I’ve thought about it, I’ve recognized more deeply this year that Christmas is more about giving than receiving. It’s an opportunity for us to give gifts to others just as God gave the ultimate gift to us in his son. And Christmas isn’t just seasonal; I think we’ll keep celebrating Jesus in these kinds of ways all year round.