Do Not Be Afraid!
My granddaughter, Cammie, was the stage manager for the play A Charlie Brown Christmas recently at her school. Linus is best known for his blue security blanket. He carries it everywhere. Lucy, his sister, dislikes the blanket and often tries to get rid of it. She buries it, turns it into a kite and into a science fair project. Linus knows he shouldn’t be so dependent on his blanket and lets it go from time to time but always takes it back.
In the play A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie Brown asks, “Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” Linus with his security blanket in hand quotes Luke 2:8-14. In the middle of his recitation, he says, “Fear not,” and drops his blanket. The thing he had always clung to when he was afraid, he dropped!
What are you afraid of? There’s something about Christmas and this Advent season that tells us we don’t need to afraid anymore. I’m amazed at the number of people who are afraid of this season. Blue Christmas services have grown in popularity. What is very popular with children and many of us causes fear in others.
The angels that appeared to the shepherds said, “Do not be afraid…a Savior has been born to you” (Luke 2:10-11). Matthew 1:23 says Jesus is “God with us.” John 14:16 says we have His very presence through the Holy Spirit, the True Comforter, so we don’t need to fear.
May Christmas 2023 be a time when you realize that Jesus came to sacrifice His life for ours. God knew there was no way we could do it ourselves, so He sent His only Son to be born of a virgin to save the world. Christmas is a time when we can let go of our security blankets. Jesus came for you! Accept Him this Christmas!
Prayer – I’m still learning, God, that you are the great Comforter. Help me understand this Christmas that Jesus has come for me! Thank you for sending your only Son! Merry Christmas! Amen.
Luke 2:10-11 – “Do not be afraid…a Savior has been born to you.”
By the Rev. Tommy Herndon
Images: Elena Jiang, Alexander Grey & Priscilla du Preez, courtesy of Unsplash
