I saw a creepy lawn display today. A full-size skeleton stood sentinel outside a suburban house. A red Santa cap adorned the head (well, skull) and a strand of colored lights rested in flesh-less hands. My gut reaction (I know, bad pun) was, "Eeew!"
But then again, maybe the decorator is onto something – grossness notwithstanding.
While the intention may have been simply to shock or even offend traditionalists (whose idea of Christmas decor typically includes things like manger scenes, elves and snow globes), the more I think about it, a definite gospel theme emerges out of this macabre design.
Christ came to bring light to a dark world:
"Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life" (John 8:12).
He came to enliven the dead:
"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:4-7).
I'm sure if I worked at it, I could find an application for the Santa hat, but that might be a stretch.
The point is, eerie or not, the skeletal scene makes a Scripturally accurate statement; illumination of lifeless beings was at the heart of Christ's mission.
Happy New Year, and "thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!"(2 Corinthians 9:15).
No comments:
Post a Comment