This Article is printed in the December 2009 edition of the Adventist Messenger.
I remember when I was young, my dad would setup a camcorder on Christmas morning and video tape us kids running down the hall into the living room to open our gifts. Oh, the excitement of it all.
The video camera my dad originally used has been obsolete now for about 15-20 years. It recorded the video onto something called a “VHS” tape. As the years went by, the camcorders changed (VHS to mini-VHS to Hi-8 to DVD to HD) and the video revealed something very interesting. As I look at the gifts we received back then and compare with the gifts kids receive today, I see the transition into the technological age.
Technology has changed many other things about Christmas past.
Like those digital Christmas cards you can create on the computer. Insert a picture of the family from your digital camera, enter in as many email address as you like, and press send.
Gone are the days of having to write a personal message on every paper card with an ink pen. Gone are the days of having to buy Christmas stamps and sending a Christmas greeting and family photo by snail mail.
Amazon
And what about Amazon.com? Amazon has changed the way many people do their Christmas present planning. You create an account and start adding to your “wish list” or start buying for someone else.
- A new iphone (my old model is already obsolete because it doesn’t take videos and the internet connection is too slow).
- A blue-ray DVD player (“With Full HD 1080p output and the ability to decode the latest HD audio formats… for the ultimate entertainment experience.”)
- A new digital camera (with 10.2-megapixel, image stabilization and 10x optical zoom)
“Wish List”
Others can look at your “wish list” online at Amazon’s website so they know what to buy for you. Or as Amazon words it, “to make sure it’s something you really want.”
Amazon might have perfected the “wish list” in past years, but they didn’t invent it. Christmas wish lists have been around for a long time and no doubt technology will be at the top of most lists this December.
But putting aside all the technology and gadgets for a moment, we must not forget the real meaning of what Christmas is about. We must never let technology stand in the way of our personal relationships with loved ones or distract from our focus on Christ.
Don’t be like the innkeeper who missed Jesus because he was too busy. Turn off the cell phone for a while and power down the computer. Make time for the Lord.
And don’t run your life like the Roman Empire, who missed Christmas because other gods took the place of Christ in their lives. Put down the xbox and Wii, switch off the TV. Allow nothing else to take the place of worshipping Jesus Christ.
On my wish list this year, “I wish you Jesus”, because when I wish you Jesus I wish you everything: joy and peace and forgiveness and salvation and abundance and purpose and prosperity and eternal life. When He’s the Lord of your life, His presence is all you need. It is my prayer that you not only connect with Jesus this Christmas season, but that you cling to him the rest of your life.
Christmas morning we will unwrap our presents, but eventually the novelty of it all will wear off. The present that was once so precious to you will end up stuffed in the closet or handed off to someone else. A newer version of your latest gadget will arrive that has more megapixels, or is smaller, or faster, or has better battery life. In time, your Christmas gifts will mostly be forgotten. But God has given us the ultimate gift—the gift of His Son Jesus Christ who will “save His people from their sins”.
Matthew 1:21-23, “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Don’t miss Christmas this year. As Watts and Handel once wrote, “Let ev’ry heart prepare Him room.”
