A Cup of Kindness

“I hate to admit it, but I'm thinking of putting up my Christmas tree”, a customer confided to me yesterday. On November 10^th? My eyes bugged out in response.

But he is not alone. It appears that Christmas is intent on coming early this year, in our thoughts, our shopping trips, and our decorating ideas. Maybe the most certain sign of Christ's premature birth this year is the controversy in our conversations online. From biblical days on, just the mention of His Name has caused kings to kill babies, scholars to squabble over how best to suppress His influence, and the faithful to fight over detail in doctrine. For a Man who came to give us peace, His presence sometimes seems to bring anything but.

While Christ was on earth He delighted in challenging conventional thinking, attacking apathetic attitudes and raising spirits (as well as bodies) from the dead. From His question to Peter in Matthew 16:15, “Who do you say that I am?” to His actions in our lives today, He is constantly challenging us to rethink our view of Him, examine the motives behind our actions, and consider new ideas about who and what He wants to be in our lives. And if He can do so with something as simple as a coffee cup, who's to say He's not in Heaven drinking a peppermint mocha and laughing with delight at the latest brew-ha-ha He's stirred up?

None of His actions were without purpose, however, and perhaps the current hysteria has one, as well. Christians have long decried the seeming removal of Christ from Christmas, from the elimination of nativity scenes in civic holiday displays to the change in our holiday greetings to the absence of religious carols in school Christmas concerts. Starbucks' change from a “Merry Christmas” message to a generic red background on their holiday cups seemed to be one more instance in a long line of the same. And so when asked by a barista what name to write on the cup, some folks are coming up innovative monikers in a effort to get His Name back where they think it should be.

Except that Christ doesn't want to see His Name on that coffee cup; He's looking to see yours as the Christmas message of the season this year. His was born in a stable initially to be born in our hearts eventually, and if He lives there now, then He can't be removed, no matter how the holiday celebrations around us play out. His name is proclaimed in your every generous action, every kind word, every holiday hug and in the abundance of love you give away everywhere you go and in everything you do this holiday season. You are the light of the world; Christ in you is His message this year.

Maybe we're rushing New Year's too, but at the risk of celebrating all the holidays at once,let's “take a cup of kindness yet” and offer it to a thirsty world, letting our actions and love rather than a pen write Christ's name on our expressions of holiday cheer.

“You are the light of the world...Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

(Matthew 5:14,16 NKJV)