November 30
“Come now, you who say ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit,’ whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’ But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil,” James 4:13-15.
Today, November 30, is the end of this church year. Our calendar year and the church year do not coincide. The calendar year begins January 1 and ends on December 31. The church year begins with the fourth Sunday before Christmas and it ends with the Trinity or Pentecost season.
The church fathers chose to center the church year around events in the life of Jesus. They began the church year by choosing four Sundays before Christmas as a time during which to prepare properly for a God-pleasing Christmas celebration.
People of the world and many people in business use this pre-Christmas season to prepare for a commercial Christmas. They hope that in this season people will buy and sell and they will make a profit. Of course, they hope that such planning will take place not only at Christmas time but throughout the year.
The apostle James wrote of those who primarily think of buying and selling and making a profit. Most of their thinking centers around the things of this life. I will go here and there and I will do this and that and in the end I will come out on top.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring? The future is in God’s hands! We can plan for things in this life, but how often do our plans fail to become reality. James has a very descriptive way to speak of this life. It is like a vapor. It appears only briefly and then it vanishes away.
James encourages us to plan according to God’s will. If it is the Lord’s will we will do this or that; we will go here or there. To speak and plan and to proceed without taking God’s will into consideration is simply a manifestation of a person’s arrogance! Pushing God out of the picture is not a sign of intelligence! It is a sign of ignorance and arrogance!
As you look around and observe how many people are preparing for Christmas, you often have to ask, “Whose birthday is it, anyway?” In this pre-Christmas season, let us prepare to celebrate a God-pleasing Christmas. Remember the angel’s Christmas message: “There is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord,” Luke 2:11. Yes, in the manger at Bethlehem lay the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a Savior who would conquer sin, death and the devil for us. That message must put a song into your heart. God sent His Son to provide for us the forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life! Believe it and invite others to believe it, too!
We pray: Dear heavenly Father, as we prepare to celebrate the birthday of Jesus, increase our faith in the greatest Gift of all, Your Son and our Savior. Put joy into our hearts and enable us to sing like the angels, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!” Luke 2:14. Through Your love and forgiveness You have given us the real reason to celebrate. Move us to share the message of Christmas with others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.