The Special Days We Share as His Family

This time of the year is especially full of occasions to gather--as families, friends, fans of sports teams, shoppers, audiences of all kinds of events and activities.  Many of the things we do during this holiday season has to to do with celebrating historical and religious traditions, and how often do we stop and think about the origins of those traditions? There are more things to celebrate and remember; events in our own family history, our community, our nations and our world. Some are happy memories, some are things that we remember with the idea of never repeating the underlying events.

There are many cultures in our world, and there are different stories and different occasions that become the backbone of our gatherings. Most people in our own "western" culture have a background of a seven-day week, which goes back about four thousand years to a small group of families who believe their ancestors were called by God to follow a set of instructions for living life at its best. The central part of the tradition was a relationship with God, and the growing memories of events that shaped our history and our lives. We have records of people like Abraham, Moses and David that shaped a nation of people who worshiped a God who created us all, and wants us to know and remember what He has done over all these centuries.

The central story we share at this time of the year is a celebration of His stepping into our history and forever changing our lives. Historically, we have agreed to celebrate this at a time of the year that we note the renewal of our physical seasons. We believe that the birth of a specific Baby, two thousand years ago, forever changed our relationship with God, our Creator; and that even though He suffered and died, He came back to life on one spring day and offered to connect us with God in a new and special way. Our lives cycle around a seven-day "week" that is based on a celebration of His Life, and one special day when we come together as His family to share our experiences in His life--the Day that He came back from death to Life, the Life that He offers us for Eternity.