The ultimate Christmas service

There are a lot of people grumbling about Christmas at the moment. There are the family politics to deal with and the manic drive to buy the "right" presents. There are financial pressures and battles with exhaustion, not to mention the emotional assault that the end of December brings - if it's not relationship tensions in the present, this time of year throws into sharp relief those relationships we have lost. Bereaved people often hurt most at Christmas. And all this when we are "supposed" to having the time of our lives. Wandering around my local shopping centre recently, eavesdropping on conversations as I went, I came to the conclusion that many of us are quite frankly making the Grinch look chirpy!

Even if you are someone who adores Christmas, there are inevitable sacrifices to be made. With the diary over-packed with family events (or disturbingly lacking anything that remotely resembles a normal routine) there are bound to be moments when life is not as you would choose it to be. And human beings tend to struggle with that at least a bit ...

Most of us have our default settings to deal with our seasonal struggles:

• Silent resignation - where we simply bite our tongues and push on through: pretending to have fun but secretly wishing for a snowstorm that would render anything other than sleep possible.
• Grumpy martyrdom - where we make sure everyone around us knows just how difficult it is to carry the burden of choosing, purchasing, wrapping and generally doing what needs to be done this season so others can enjoy themselves.
• Rebellious avoidance - I can name quite a few who have pretended to go on holiday to avoid family traditions or boycotted parties and presents in a drive for solitude and simplicity.

I've done them all over the years. None of them brought glory to Jesus.

But dig below the tinsel and tonnes of marzipan and we find the core of Christmas. The wonder of God become man, the awesome truth that Jesus was willing to leave the glory of heaven to come to earth, not to be served but to serve, even to the point of death. It's a mind-blowing story. Indeed, it's one of the most pivotal scenes in the best story ever - the narrative of God acting to save his rebellious people and draw them into his loving family.

Any of us who have been Christians for a while, will be familiar with the call to keep Jesus at the centre of Christmas - to make time for prayer and praise, evangelism and encouragement amid the trees and turkeys. But this Christmas, why not take it a step further and hear the clarion call of Philippians 2:

"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: who, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross!" (Philippians 2:5-7)

If we have been truly touched by his amazing sacrifice, we will want to display that same attitude of willing, adoring service more and more. As his Spirit works in our hearts, we will be able to reach that aim more consistently. As we repent of grumpiness past and look to Jesus' example and enabling in the present, we can become children who are ever more like our Saviour.

So, however, we end up celebrating Christmas - in quietness or surrounded by hoards, with heavy hearts or overflowing with joy - let's commit ourselves to becoming more Christ-like and give thanks for his incarnation by displaying an attitude of servant-heartedness, humbly wanting what's best for the people we meet and loving having the opportunity to minister to those around us willingly and for the glory of Jesus.