Merry Christmas, y’all. 

I’m excited to share this Christmas reflection with you after a great Advent. New guidance for my sanctification journey appeared, and I look forward to how it develops. I went into Advent with a plan for my writing focus this year, but I was led to wait for a dive into Advent, and I found an even better idea. So, imagine this: I ignored my plans, joined in the season of the Church, then God showed me a better direction. You can revisit my Advent Reflection – here. 

Now, I want to start this Christmas reflection where Advent ended. “I go with God, because He is with me” equals The Idea that came from my waiting in Advent. “Going with God” has long been a theme of my sanctification journey, so let’s see where I go as I reflect on Christmas. 

When I contemplate Christmas, my thoughts begin with gratitude that the Church offers a whole season, not only one day. I think the Twelve Days of Christmas is vastly important for me since Christmas Day is often a very busy one. On account of that busy-ness, I forget the importance of the event celebrated during Christmas. My forgetfulness leads to gratitude for a few days to remember what’s exactly going on. 

The exact events celebrated during Christmas are two of the biggest mysteries in all of Christianity. First, there’s the Feast of the Nativity (or the day of Christmas) where the celebration is the birth of God as a man through Jesus. Second, the celebration includes, then, the Mystery of the Incarnation. 

All of that translates into far too much for one Christmas reflection, but the short version is that God reveals His presence with us through the events of Christmas. The impact on my sanctification journey, then, is God’s confirmation of His presence with me. Even better news: If God would lower Himself to be with me, He is most certainly with you too. 

As I reflect on this Christmas confirmation, one link between Christmas and The Idea for 2023 is the derivative nature of my journey with God. Now, The Idea is “I go with God because He is with me.” I think it’s time for a little fun with the English language. 

(Side note: If you just rolled your eyes at that last sentence, you’re in good company, since you couldn’t have rolled them any louder than Lynn when she hears that line.)

I want to look at that word “because.” “Because” can mean a couple of different things depending on the situation. I, often, think of “because” as a personal motivation – that plethora of personal reasons which inspire the choice of one thing over another. 

For example, I watched three episodes of Amazon’s Rings of Power because I like Tolkien’s work. You can see my motivation here. I have a personal enjoyment of Tolkien’s complete story telling, so I am motivated to give the show a try. 

Additionally though, because can indicate a primary-derived relationship. The phrase before because depends upon what comes after. You can see this meaning of because in the Tolkien example as well. My attempt to watch the show derives from my enjoyment of Tolkien in general. 

Okay, so – what if my “going with God” is more in this latter sense than the former? In other words, how might my sanctification journey derive more from “because He is with me” than merely being motivated by personal preferences? 

Right now, I don’t know the answer to that, but I am reminded of the Shepherds in Luke’s Gospel as I write my Christmas reflection. 

Faithful Connection 

I choose to start with a reminder of Luke 2:8-20. A group of shepherds, who are minding their own business & simply going about their daily steps, are surprised by a sky full of angels. These angels report the birth of Jesus and sing God’s praise. With such inspiration, the shepherds leave their flocks to go see what is happening. 

First, I’m going to take a very safe leap of faith: These shepherds were good Jewish people. I take this leap on the Biblical pattern that no one receives such a message without being faithful. Look at Moses, Solomon (initially), all the prophets, even Mary and Joseph. So, these shepherds were “good church folk.”

This leap of faith means that the shepherds lived in a perpetual state of Advent. They expected God’s promises to be fulfilled, anticipated that happening, and were prepared to receive it. So, they were waiting with God. 

Second, their journey to Bethlehem – their going with God – derives from God’s presence with them. Obviously, they would have no cause, let alone motivation, to leave the sheep without God’s intervention. Therefore, one might say: They go with God because God is with them. 

Third, they have steps to take. They could have pulled an Ebenezer and blamed what they saw on a “a crust of moldy bread,” but they decided to go and see instead. 

Still, what a nice confirmation for me. The shepherds’ “going with God” certainly looks derived from God’s being with them. 

A Picture from Ordinary Life 

At this point, you might be thinking: That’s great for the Biblical shepherds, but what relevance does that have for me? 

Well, let me first assure you that God’s call hasn’t changed since the beginning: Come, walk with Me. From Adam & Eve to Moses to King David to Mary & Joseph to me and to you, the call to come and walk with God still is the same. 

Even if you grant me that, you might still wonder: All right, but how do I see it in my life? 

For my part, I challenge you to see it in the average, every day, ordinary stuff of your life. 

In fact, I saw a reminder of my sanctification journey as derivative from God’s presence through a homeschooling lesson. 

Homeschool proves one of my favorite journeys to date. I enjoy the lesson planning and seeing Lynn adapt to the lessons. Then, she exceeds all expectations. 

So, the other day, we faced the end of a long week, so I spent a couple hours searching for a lesson plan that would relax a bit while summarizing the week’s lessons. I settled on a hike through some nearby woods. I know where there’s a small waterfall, and we have a nature identification app (thanks to my sister-in-law). Plus, a glance at the weather predicted a pleasantly cloudy day for a comfortable hike. 

The next morning, Jessica and I wrangled everyone into hiking clothes before stepping out our front door. First, no less than a half dozen lizards greet us on the front porch. Care to guess what letter we focused on that week? (Here’s a hint: L.) Next, the remaining green plants fascinated Lynn, so we had nine specimens in our nature app before we turned toward the waterfall. The waterfall was thin because of little recent rain, but Lynn was able to hear the trickle and see the stream fall over some rocks. Near the end, we came out of the woods on the road in front of the house, and there was a fallen tree that Lynn thought we should remove, because it would help people driving on our road. So – obviously – we removed the tree. With the last piece at her feet, Jessica notices a slug. The slug was enthusiastically added to the app, and it completed our ten-specimen collection. (10 being the number of the week.) I think this adventure ranks easily in the top five lessons of the semester. 

Later, as I sat with smoking pipe lit during my quiet time with God, I was praising Him for all the provision and guidance that day when the Christmas reflection came back to mind. I, rightfully, call God my father and credit Him with the call, path, and destination for my sanctification journey. My interest is the improvement of my going with Him along that path. Hence, The Idea from Advent focuses my exploration on going with God because He is with me. In other words, my sanctification journey of going with God happens only on account of His presence – my going is derived from His being with me. 

Just look at the homeschool hike: Lynn’s papa asks her to go on a hike with a destination in mind (the waterfall) along a designated route. Then, both Lynn and Papa go together because of that lesson planning. 

In this way, God uses my ordinary life to confirm my Christmas reflection that my sanctification journey is derived from God being with me. 

Story Time 

While I pause to thank God that His presence is more conducive to a sanctification journey than Lynn’s papa, I’d like to share a story.

Christmas Story: Ollie and Thelma’s Story