A Simple Christmas, Zechariah 9:9

It was Christmas time 2005.  We were living as missionaries in a small, rural, Ukrainian village.  It was our first Christmas away from loved ones and family.  The village was poor, humble and unassuming, suffering from nearly a century of Communist rule.  Running water was limited.  Heat was sparse and the comforts of home scarce.  We were a bit homesick and desired to return to the States for Christmas.  God, though, had other plans for us.  We stayed, and celebrated Christmas with our Ukrainian brothers and sisters in the Lord.  To this day, it marks one the most cherished Christmas memories of my lifetime.  Why?  What was so special, so significant about that Christmas? 

For the first time in our life, everything superficial was stripped away.  We had our God, each other, our Ukrainian family and the joy of celebrating Heaven come to earth.  It was a humble, simple Christmas with no flashy lights, no busy parties, no extravagant gifts or the chaos of frantic Christmas shopping.  It was the first Christmas we, as spoiled Americans, had “nothing” and it was the most wonderful, treasured Christmas.

Zechariah 9:9 says, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
    Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
    righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Jesus’ arrival was nothing flashy, grand or even majestic.  There were no superficial extras to distract or overwhelm.  Just Jesus, humble, unassuming, gentle, and loving.  He came as our King to serve and sacrifice.  He showed us the way to true contentment, joy, and peace.  You see; in possessing Jesus, we possess everything. 

“Let the weak, say I am strong.  Let the poor say, I am rich.  Let the blind say, I can see.  It’s what the Lord has done for me.”  May we, this Christmas season, seek to embrace our humble Savior with simplicity, contentment and true Holy Spirit joy.

Troy T