Christmas: Making Jesus Known

@JeanneTakenaka +Jeanne Takenaka

“I must decrease that He may increase.” 

~John 3:30

Isn’t this the whole idea of Christmas? Making Jesus known?

The angels worshiped and declared the Savior had been born.

The shepherds worshiped and declared Jesus’s birth. They set aside their work, their busy-ness, their identity, and even their fears of condescension from those higher on the status rankings. They left their livelihood to worship their Messia

Over the past month, I’ve been busy and distracted—in mind and in heart. The boys’ activities, doctor’s appointments, life’s interruptions . . . they’ve all kept my eyes pointed toward . . . 

Me.

The words above, spoken by John the Baptist, really challenge me. I’ve increased in my own priorities. Sure, I need to do things for my family. But at times, I’ve pointed people to me. I’ve relied on myself to take care of my needs. 

Every Christmas season I vow to make the days more about Jesus. I determine to take on less and to be still more and to worship more.

But, honestly? Especially for mothers, this is H-A-R-D. So many things make demands on our time, our hearts.

What if we could set our hearts more on Jesus and less on doing? 

No, some of the things on our lists can not be set aside. 

Maybe, we need to evaluate the things on our lists and determine what are good things, and what are the best things?

Sometimes, we need to let the good things go for a season so we can focus on the best things.

The filter for making these decisions is different for each of us. 

But, with Christmas only a couple of weeks away, I want to decrease so that Jesus may increase . . . in my heart, and in the hearts and minds of those around me. 

What if, in our conversations, we point people toward Jesus and not just toward our shared struggles and busyness? 

What if we encourage each other to seek Him first and not the next check mark on our lists? 

What if we set aside time each day to spend with Jesus?

Even if it’s only ten minutes, He can meet us where we are, refresh us with His spirit and enable us to decrease so that He may increase.

As we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Savior, let’s choose to be like the shepherds and set aside whatever causes us to increase in our minds, or in the minds of others. 

Let’s focus, instead, on the activities, the words, the choices that will cause us to decrease so that Jesus increases in our lives and in our interactions with others. 

And let’s prepare our hearts to worship Him who came to give us life abundant.

In the interest of opening up time to spend with Jesus and with my family, I will be taking a blogging break until my sons head back to school after their Christmas break.

In the meantime, please know how much you, my readers, mean to me.

I love the interactions we share, how you share pieces of your journeys here at my little place. I am praying that you have a joy-filled, Jesus-infused Christmas, and that He gifts you with His presence in surprising ways!

 I’ll see you back here on January 8th!

What about you? What is one way you decrease so that Jesus increases? How do you point others toward Jesus during the Christmas season?

Click to Tweet: What if we could set our hearts more on Jesus and less on doing?

I’m linking up with #RaRaLinkup, #TellHisStory, and Holley Gerth