In many ways, this day clears our thinking. Often we expect to get all our wishes fulfilled at Christmas. Maybe you have had a Christmas when you got everything you wanted. It produces a strange sensation on the next day.
It took me way too long to realize that getting stuff would not really make me happy. Stuff promises to make us happy, but it never ultimately delivers. We tend to believe the lie that we just need "a little bit more." Then we'll be happy.
Then I reached the point in my adult life when I stopped caring so much about what I would receive. I pinned my hopes for fulfillment on the gifts I was giving. I eagerly anticipated the joy in the eyes of my children, my wife, my other family and friends. It is very exciting to share in their experience. But even that left me empty.
December 26 reveals the truth. If we expect to find fulfillment with the Christmas gifts we receive OR give, we are probably going to be found empty all too soon.
Real fulfillment only comes through relationship. That's why Jesus told us that the most important thing in all the world is to love God. The second most important thing is to love others.
It's really that simple. When we see life that way, then December 26 is no disappointment. We can soak in the joys of relationship, not just at Christmas, but every day.
