Christmas 2023 – So much stuff…

A beautiful cherry wood dresser. Hardly a scratch on it. “It was my Grandmother’s, and I’m now in my 70’s!”

Two boxes of blown glass heart ornaments marked: “Christmas 1990 – Chicago IKEA – bought with Chris”

Boxes of craft supplies. “I think her days of crafting have come to an end…”

For the last couple of years, I’ve been selling things on Facebook to make a little extra money. Usually I sell things we don’t need anymore or things we find on the curb. But this year was unique. I began meeting people who were downsizing their lives, and they asked me to help them. In a couple of cases, they didn’t even want to split the sales! They just needed to get rid of their stuff so they could move on to the next season of their lives.

This wasn’t just a one-time pick up of a box or two. On several occasions, I had to rent a U-haul truck! And each time, as we loaded up boxes and furniture, I would hear a common lament:  “We’ve tried to give this stuff to our kids, our grandkids, our great-grandkids… but we just can’t find anyone to pass it on to! No one seems to want it!”

As I put up our Christmas decorations this year, I found several bags of Christmas craft supplies that hadn’t sold yet and decided to use them for our own holiday creations. So this month, Kyla and I have been crafting away, trying to make every ornament idea that pops up on my Instagram feed.

One day as I was hot gluing some of those hand-me-down bits and baubles, a story from scripture came to mind:

Then he [Jesus] told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” Luke 12:16-21 (NLT)

Phew. That’s a sobering question. Who will get everything you worked for?  As I looked at my table cluttered with others’ possessions, I had to chuckle as I realized that in this case, I was the one who ended up with them! Now this is certainly not to say that these couples were fools! On the contrary, their lives are inspiring to me and reflect rich relationship with God.

But the heart of this story gives something to stop and ponder. And if there’s one thing that’s been abundantly clear to me this year, it’s that our stuff doesn’t just disappear. It has to be passed on somewhere.

As I spend the month of Advent looking with Kyla at the coming of Jesus, I consider why He came and what He had to pass on as His life came to a close. Sure, there were a few pieces of clothing that were gambled for by some guards. But there was something far greater. He came to leave us an inheritance.

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:13-14 (ESV)

And it’s not even something we need to find a place to store in our attic! He’s storing it for us!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you… 1 Peter 1:3-4 (ESV)

There’s a place in each of us that hungers for Jesus. But somehow we have a tendency to fill it with lesser things. I mean, who am I to talk? Even as I am writing this, I went and grabbed a couple of cookies to fill my growling tummy. They are quick (and fleeting) satisfaction.

Probably each of us has something that we try to fill that place with. A hobby. A job. A pile of gifts under the tree. They satisfy. Just like my cookies. But they don’t give life. John 6:35 says that Jesus is the Bread of life, and if we come to Him, we’ll never be hungry again. And not only does it satisfy us, but it is something that can be passed down! It’s something that the kids, the grandkids, the great-grandkids truly need… and we pray they will receive it… receive Jesus… into that place already carved out for Him.

As we savor the Christmas season this year, would you take a quiet moment, with me, to look into that Jesus space inside you. Is He there? Nothing else is going to fill it. Nothing else is going with us on our way out of here. And nothing else is a greater inheritance to pass on.

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Romans 15:13 (NLT)

~ by jen4him on December 2, 2023.