I saw the Wednesday paper on the check-out counter, noticed the sales fliers and added the newspaper to my purchases. “I need to check the Black Friday specials,” I thought and set the paper aside for later. It’s not “later” yet, but maybe it will be.
Black Friday sales are “a thing” in my family. My mama loved to check the specials and decide where to shop at an outrageous hour of not-quite-morning. She thrived on getting the best bargains. Mama wanted a big pile of presents under the tree on Christmas. The day-after-thanksgiving sales made her huge stack possible.
Pre-dawn shopping is not my favorite, but I’ve had a few Black Friday adventures. I enjoyed them because I was with family, but the crowds and the rush completely overwhelmed to me. Today, I’m staying home.
The most important of Black Friday specials:
Instead, I decided to ponder the Black Friday Special that changed history: A Messiah for 30 pieces of silver.
It’s a sobering thought and one we’d do well to remember as we head into the shopping frenzy that, all too often, fills the Advent season. During this season, we celebrate the nativity of our Lord, the moment in history when God Almighty, King of Heaven and Earth, slipped into a coat of flesh and delivered Himself to the most unlikely of parents in the most unlikely of places.
He arrived with His face set like flint toward His own Black Friday and never lost sight of it. We can keep our eyes on the real reason for Christ during the next few weeks, but only if we choose to do so now. The cooing baby in the manger matters only because the suffering Son of God chose the cross and the empty tomb that followed.
We can honor Christ as we celebrate the Christmas season, but not if we expect it to happen by accident. It requires a conscious decision to do so. Today, let’s fix our eyes on the empty tomb and celebrate the One who loved us so much He came as a baby and kept going until the tomb was emptied and His people were freed.
Joy to the World! The Lord has come! Let earth receive her King!
If you’re looking for an Advent devotional guide, here’s a great one:
The Road to Bethlehem: An Advent Prayer and Devotional Guide
It’s available in Kindle format ($0.99) and paperback ($6.00)
(this is an affiliate link, so I may make a few cents if you make a purchase using the link, but it won’t increase your price in any way)
If We’ve Been Liberated, Why Don’t We Live Free?
When the Prayer of Desperation Becomes Through the Roof Prayer
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