meaning lost

I really enjoy using fun adjectives to describe things. It keeps me more engaged in my day to day and it throws people off sometimes, which I must admit I enjoy. The problem is that over time my use of words like 'fabulous' or 'splendid' or 'peachy' lose their meaning. I forget the power of them and others do as well. They become just as generic as 'fine' or 'good', the very words I tried to hard to avoid. 

The small group that I am in has been going through a study and part of the lesson this past week went through adjectives to describe God: Good. Great. Glorious. Gracious. These words have the potential for significant meaning and huge implications in our lives. The reality is that they don't really mean much anymore. Just like certain verses in the Bible, we hear them so often that we zone out and miss out on so much. God, our God, is HUGE, and POWERFUL, and ALL KNOWING, and HOLY and JUST  and PERFECT. He sent his child, the depth of this sacrifice only a parent can understand, to die a brutal death while he watched so that we could have life. forever.    

Not only do words lose their meaning, seasons do as well. We know the Bible story of a little baby Jesus in a manger with animals. It's cute, but that is often as deep as it goes. It's so easy to get caught up in the flow of the holiday chaos and totally miss the GINORMOUS significance of what we are celebrating (or at least should be celebrating). Every year I have great intentions to do December differently, to be more advent minded, to focus on Christ more and the other stuff less. Days fly by and suddenly I realize that I'm just where I was before. Thankfully there is still time this year to reorder everything and let the words of the gospel penetrate into my heart the way they should. 

I want to challenge you: The next few weeks take some time to be intentional. slow. down. Like Mary, sit at the feet of Christ and let him reveal who he is and what he has done for you in a new, powerful way. Listen to the words of the gospels and even christmas carols (the old, real, hymn-like carols). We can recite them without thought, but many are rich. Let our hearts be focused on humility and praise this month, and always; seeking Jesus like the wise men.