Lessons from a helmet

Last night we took the kids to a lighted park in Madison. We used to visit one every December in St. Louis, but had yet to find one here in WI. The kids ask every year, so we finally researched and found a park filled with Christmas lights. There really wasn't much of a display, but the kids were excited none-the-less.

One fixture was particularly exciting ... a Green Bay Packers helmet. We drove by it four times and every single time Gabe would ooh and aah and exclaim over how wonderful it was. :) We found it rather funny that he continued to be excited by the very same helmet, but as I was thinking again of Gabe's joy, I realized that I had a lesson to learn from him.

How often have I heard the Christmas story and, more particularly, the gospel message? Every year we repeat the same Biblical stories with our children hoping that they will grasp the significance. And yet, in my own heart it has become just another retelling of the same old story. Where is my excitement over the miracle of Christ's coming? Where is my joy in hearing once again how God humbled Himself, took on flesh and died for my sin?

I have noticed lately that my faith seems dry and stale. I have been lacking the freshness and zeal that I once had. But today, as I think of my son's joy over a repeated sighting of a Green Bay helmet, I am reminded that I haven't really taken a good look at the cross lately. It is only through a daily glimpse of Christ that I will be able to maintain a joyful faith. Only when I am looking at Him can I see myself for who I am - a sinner in great need of saving, a totally unworthy recipient of God's grace.

So, today I'm choosing to look again at the cross. I'm choosing to remember to see my Savior. And I'm choosing to be excited about the age old story.