With those words in Charles Dickens’s famous story, we see the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge. At first, he is a hard-hearted, greedy old miser described as a “tight-fisted, squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner.  Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.” Doesn’t sound like someone we want to spend a lot of time with, does it?

Last Advent, our family read through Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.  I knew the story but it was honestly the first time I actually read it.  The language was beautiful and the story convicting.  As the story goes on, the terrible Scrooge is visited by three ghosts from Christ past, present, and future.  With their help, he begins to see his life through different eyes.  It is difficult and painful for Scrooge to face the brokenness he’s caused and the road to perdition upon which he is traveling.  During the last visit, from the Spirit of Christmas-Yet-To-Come, Scrooge is broken.  He vows that he will “honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year.  I will live in the past, the present, and the future… I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.”

At the end of the journey, we find Scrooge completely changed.  In the last chapter, Scrooge says “I’m as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a schoolboy!”  He proceeds to go and make right all his errors.  He joyfully goes about the town laughing and wishing a Merry Christmas to all in the town, to his extended family, to his faithful employee, Bob Cratchit. He becomes “as good a friend, master, and man as the city ever knew.”  Scrooge’s experience with the three Spirits of Christmas has left him changed – and desiring to carry Christmas around with him everywhere he goes for the rest of his life.

The Scriptures teach that we are a lot like Scrooge.  We are tightfisted, covetous sinners. But when we grasp the truth of the Christmas story – the incredible news that God came into our world as one of us in order to rescue us from what our sins deserve – we too are transformed. Scripture says when we trust in Jesus and his work on our behalf – his life, death, and resurrection – we become new creations. And as new creations in Christ, the hope, joy, peace, and love that everyone aspires to at Christmas becomes ours… always! The Christ child who came in the stable in Bethlehem is the risen Christ who reigns and whose Spirit dwells within us. We who know the Christ of Christmas have every reason, every ability, and every opportunity to carry Christmas with us everywhere we go – to honor Christmas in our hearts and keep it all the year!

My husband and I collaborated on an Advent devotional for our church, with the prayer it would remind, inspire, and challenge us all to remember who we were apart from Christ, to rejoice in the truth of Christmas, and relay the good news to all that Christ has come to redeem, restore, and rescue! We hope this helps you celebrate and consecrate this Advent – and to carry it with you into all of 2018.

I will post each devotion in a separate post (there are three per week for the 4 weeks of Advent). Each contains a Scripture reading, key words to watch for, a big idea, and practical suggestions for keeping Christmas all the year in 2018. We also designed an additional, included resource to help this happen – a calendar. Both of these are available in hard copy at Back Creek Church (1821 Back Creek Church Road Charlotte, NC 28213) or can be sent to you if you request in the common section (through traditional mail or in PDF form). The themes in this devotional will correspond each week to the theme of our Advent preaching series at Back Creek called Keeping Christmas. May God bless you this Advent.