2013
How to See the Christ in Christmas
December 2013


“How to See the Christ in Christmas,” New Era, Dec. 2013, 48

From Church Leaders

How to See the Christ in Christmas

From a First Presidency Christmas Devotional given on December 6, 2009.

Image
President Dieter F. Uchtdorf
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nativity

Nativity carved by Waclaw Suska © Brigham Young University Museum of Art, do not copy

Sometimes the most precious and sacred things are right in front of us, in plain sight, but we cannot or will not see them.

This may be especially true during the blessed and precious season of Christmas. This is a beautiful time of the year. Trees are draped with sparkling lights, the stores glitter with dazzling decorations, and the streets bustle with crowds of shoppers seeking gifts for those they love.

All of these spectacular displays and decorations that compete for our attention can be beautiful and uplifting, but if that’s all we see, then we’re missing something that’s in plain sight. Sometimes, despite our best intentions, we fail to see with our hearts that which is essential and most sacred.

In an age when vast amounts of knowledge are at our fingertips, the familiar story of Jesus the Christ can get lost amid the flood of pressing news or the latest popular movies or books.

Some people are so caught up in the details of running their lives that they don’t make time for much else. They might pay lip service to the things of the Spirit, but their hearts are so focused on the world that they cannot see the Christ.

In spite of their good intentions, they miss the transforming revelations of the Holy Spirit and thereby miss the only way to receive a certain testimony of Jesus Christ.

This is a season of rejoicing! A season of celebration! A wonderful time when we acknowledge that our Almighty God sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem the world! To redeem us!

It is a season of charitable acts of kindness and brotherly love. It is a season of being more reflective about our own lives and about the many blessings that are ours. It is a season of forgiving and being forgiven.

But perhaps most of all, let it be a season of seeking the Lamb of God, the King of Glory, the Everlasting Light of the World, the Great Hope of Mankind, the Savior and Redeemer of our souls.

I promise that if we unclutter our lives a little bit and in sincerity and humility seek the pure and gentle Christ with our hearts, we will see Him, we will find Him—on Christmas and throughout the year.