A New Baby. . .now what?

Christmas has brought us the gift of a new baby in Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God-with-us. Well, a new baby is fine and good, but what are we to do with it? We might take some direction from some of the familiar carols we’ve been hearing in the malls and singing in church lately.

First, “O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord”. Gather with the church family for adoration of God in Christ. We call that “worship”, and it continues to happen at Forest Hill each Sunday morning at 10 a.m. It really is not enough just to adore him in the manger on Christmas Eve. Fellowships of faithful people, Christians among them, through many centuries have recognized the inherent value in being “in fellowship” with one another. When we gather as community to pray and praise, to study and serve, all of it is made stronger as we support and encourage each other. Of course when we as Christians give ourselves over to God and confess “Christ the Lord”, God’s will and God’s way in our lives are much more likely to be realized.

We do have to be careful, though. Sometimes the church gets its signals crossed. It seems we come to believe that “sleep in heavenly peace” is an instruction for us. Of course those are words of a Christmas lullaby and while we do want the newborn Christ to rest up for the life ahead of him, we can’t be sleepy headed followers. Lots of times the church does find itself content to rest or sleep in the heavenly peace found within its walls. We have to be careful not to forget that we are called to be the hands and feet, the eyes and ears, the mind and heart of Christ in, for and to, our world today. “Go, tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere” is the direction we need to heed. That is a call to reach outside the walls of the church to share the message of God’s loving and to serve to meet the needs of God’s people everywhere.

So as we head into 2012, let the new baby make a difference in your life. Let’s all pick ourselves up, brush off the  tinsel and glitter, re-examine our commitments to God and the church and step up to take an active role in the life, work and worship and fellowship of Forest Hill. Together we can build a church that brings “heavenly peace” to our community. May your Faith be strong in this New Year!

Blessings!
m&m

(Photo credits: Nativity scene picture from here. Cute baby from here.)