A Feeling in the Air
Let’s listen to the first pre-chorus, in my Christmas song Born in Bethlehem:
There’s a feeling in the air like a thousand gentle prayers
As silence falls over the land
Come gather one and all at the stable
The hour is close at hand!
The Changing Nature of Christmas Feelings
Christmas always brings a kind of a special feeling in the air doesn't it? Although I must admit, the older I get, the later it seems to come! I remember as a kid, getting excited about Christmas very early. Maybe it was the lights in Boksburg town and Boksburg Lake, which sadly don't go up anymore. Maybe it was the Boney M music in the shops – although nowadays with YouTube and Spotify there is a huge selection of Christmas music you hear. Maybe it was just youthful innocence and optimism!
These days that feeling seems to come a little later for me – I think usually it starts when work closes for the year and we have those few days of shopping and seeing family and so on.
Beyond Feelings to Truth
Of course, faith is more than feelings. Early in my life, I remember reading a quote that so inspired me that I wrote it down in a little book and kept it with me in my school blazer so I could read it if I needed to. It came from a book by Neil T. Anderson and Dave Park called "Free!", and it said this: "Some mornings we may not feel very holy, but we don't live according to our feelings. We look to God's truth that, unlike our feelings, doesn't change."
The Unchanging Reality of Christmas
How that helped me, as a young man! My feelings are going to change. But God's truth is the same. So base your life on His truth, not how you feel.
Christmas feeling comes and goes, and it may come later in the season as you get older. But don't rely on the feeling to have a great Christmas! Rely on God's truth.
And God's truth is that Jesus came, as a child, and this changed everything. In the song I say "come gather one and all at the stable, the hour is close at hand." Come, gather, let's worship, because this little one is going to change the world! Or from our perspective on the other side of the event, this little one did change the world.
This Christmas, enjoy the feeling in the air, if you can feel it. But remember, it's not about the feeling. It's about the truth. Let it be the wonderful story of Christ's coming and bringing salvation that is the focus of this Christmas, and worship Him whether you feel it or not.
