Here’s something you should know—most of us are way behind on Christmas. Yes, you can breathe easier because you’re definitely not alone.
A sizeable bunch of us are playing catch-up on trimming the tree and baking cookies and Secret Santa gift exchanges and planning parties and Christmas outreaches because, as it turns out, regular life didn't decide to pause just because it’s December.
So, guess what? Despite the seemingly flawless "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" reels you see on social media, this season will likely be imperfect. The roast chicken may be dry, your family Christmas pictures may be awkward, the house may look cluttered, you may never get around to buying matching Christmas PJs, and you may not even get to bake your signature plum cake this year.
But here’s something else you should know: An imperfect Christmas is perfectly okay. In fact, it may be better than okay.
What do I mean?
Imperfection gives us opportunities to reflect on our inadequacy. We get to ponder on our limitedness. We get to deliberate on our weaknesses. We get to consider our world’s fallenness. And in doing so, we get to stand amazed because there’s only One who is perfect and unlimited and flawless and enough.
No, I’m not suggesting that we celebrate laziness or procrastination. That wouldn’t be God-honouring.
There’s a reel I happened to see on Instagram where an influencer uses humour to normalise procrastinating on chores around Christmas time. As she walks past dishes in the sink or laundry dumped in baskets, she sticks a giant Christmas bow on the piles of clutter and calls it good. While the “Stick a bow on it” reel is meant in jest, it also suggests that complacency should be celebrated. As believers, however, we are meant to glorify God in all we do—including chores and the mundane things of life. I'm not giving a thumbs-up to a complacent Christmas.
Yet, on the other hand, perfection tends to breed pride. It makes us delude ourselves into thinking we are enough in ourselves. It can distance us from God.
Jesus did not step into perfection. Jesus chose to be born at a challenging time in history, to a race that was held in slavery, to parents that were likely rejected by their families, in a barn that was probably not sanitary, to be placed in a feeding trough meant for animals, to be worshipped by shepherds who were then considered unsavoury. As much as we have romanticised the Nativity, that first Christmas wouldn’t have won awards for impeccable ambiance or textbook nursery décor.
And yet Paul says in Galatians 4:4, “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law." God chose a less-than-ideal time in history to be the perfect moment for Light to enter the dark world.
Jesus willingly entered into our brokenness. He sympathises with our humanity. He understands our weakness.
This Christmas, instead of perfection may we seek His presence. Because He is Emmanuel who lives with us in the messes and the mundane.
We can celebrate an imperfect Christmas because we worship a Perfect Saviour.
Photo by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
