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 That Christmas, they displayed one of those
plastic nativities in their front yard, Joseph, Mary, and the Babe.
One evening, we kidnapped plastic baby Jesus. My four young children
helped me create a ransom note from newspapers and magazines. “If
you ever want to see Baby Jesus again…bring two dozen Christmas
cookies to 4113 Glenwood.” We signed it “Or else” (sinister I know)!
We taped the note to their front door.
The next morning there was a package on our front step full of
cookies, candy, a pop tart, pretzels, some cough drops, anything
they could find, and a note from them that read… “Please don’t hurt
our Baby Jesus…he’s all we have.” My grown children still talk about
that Christmas.
Surprisingly, there are still some plastic lawn Christmas nativity
sets floating around out there. The entire set with wise men,
shepherds, and camels are rare. Occasionally, you might still see a
full set. This got me thinking how many Americans like the idea of
plastic Christmas!
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Plastic can be cute and inexpensive but remember there’s no
substance to plastic. It doesn't stand up well when the winds of
storms blow; lights inside burn out leaving us in darkness, and how
many things are wrong with a plastic Jesus? Our secular culture
would love a Jesus they could put away quickly and easily and forget
until next year. Jesus isn’t plastic. He’s real flesh and blood. And
He wants to be real to you.
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Don’t buy into how secular society packages
Christmas. It’s counterfeit and will leave you feeling empty. True
Christmas invites a real Jesus into it. Everything else is just
hollow.
Merry Christmas Lincoln,
Pastor Ron Otto
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