Leave it Up

We are a few days past Christmas now.

The gifts are all unwrapped, and the celebrations have passed. Most of our homes look a "tad" disheveled with the cluttered remnants of merry-making and holly-jollying.

The cookies are starting to get stale (which won't stop me from eating them, though), and we can't fathom having one more night of leftovers.

My Christmas decor can be described as "More is More" so it's right about now that I start to feel the walls of my house closing in on me, and I must stop everything and remove all decorations immediately.

I love a good post-Christmas clean and declutter.

A thought occurred to me as I was putting away all the glittered goodness.

I don't want to put away the miracle that is Jesus.

I don't want the story of Jesus reduced to a ceramic nativity scene that is just part of my decor.

I don't want to forget the story of our Savior's birth and pack it away in some old box (or one of my numerous totes - why do I have so many totes?).

I want the love of Jesus to be displayed proudly in my home and my heart all year long.

I want to leave up the love God gave us when He sent us Jesus.

I want to leave up the truth that Jesus came and died for me, a sinner who needed a Savior.

I want to leave up His love that He showed for us all.

I'm not saying I will leave up all my nativity scenes; that would cause intense off-season angst.

But I will vow to remember.

I will vow to keep the love of Jesus as the focal point of my life, not just during Christmas but every day.

That sounds like a line from a cheesy movie, but I mean it.

As you clean up all the clutter, ask yourself what you want to leave up this year.

Is it remembering that Jesus is the son of God sent to save us and that believing in His sacrificial love for you changes everything in your life?

Is it the gift of forgiveness and mercy you want to remember and emulate?

Is it service and doing unto others the way Jesus did for us?

Is it loving yourself and others with grace and kindness?

Don't pack away all the goodness that Jesus brought with Him.

Leave it all out and display it proudly.

Jesus deserves to be displayed front and center.

We are the beloved children of God, and the love of Jesus can be displayed brightly from within us.

Leave it up for all to see!

Isaiah 1: 16-18

Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight;

stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.

"Come now, let us settle the matter," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Psalm 51:2

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!