Coach's Corner

Keeping the Under-Resourced In Our Budget This Christmas

It’s ‘the most wonderful time of the year’ … again! The annual countdown to Christmas begins, but this year, it’s going to be different. For the first time ever I’m thinking … ‘It’s budget time!’ Weird, right? It's not always the first thing we think about when it comes a season often characterized by generosity and even extravagance. I’m usually spending fairly indiscriminately on gifts – I want these people to know I love them … don't I?

But, what would Jesus Christ do? Or, in the case of the first Christmas, what did Jesus’ father do?

God gives us a solid hint of where his priorities lie when he makes his son’s birth announcement to shepherds. The first people told of Christ’s birth were poor – even to the point of discrimination. Did you know shepherds were not even allowed to be witnesses in the court of law? Isn’t it just like a saviour to be flipping the tables and making things right, from the very first moment?!

So, what’s your budget like this year? Have you allotted a certain amount for your loved ones, including God’s loved ones; the under-resourced among us? Christ's arrival on earth changed everything – giving us the chance to be reborn, to re-engage our hearts like we never left Eden (even if the world around us is anything but paradise).

And that's what we long for! A world-wide healing and restoration to the way things God intended them to be.

So we hope, and so we pray to God, 

"Your kingdom come 
Your will be done, 
on earth as it is in heaven."
(Matt. 6)

 

And then we take action! There will always be inequality – later on in his life, Jesus said, “You will always have the poor among you” (John 12.8). And through this imbalance, he has given us the opportunity to partner with him in making things right.

So, I’ve chosen to remember the ‘poor’ in a very intentional way this year. I’m including them in my Christmas budget. And I’m excited for the chance to celebrate the season Jesus-style. Hoping and praying the same opportunity for you!

 

Looking for practical ideas? Check out the video below.

Promo 2011 from Advent Conspiracy on Vimeo.

Posted December 01, 2011