What does your tree look like?

I love Christmas time. It is the time of year when people put a sharp focus on Jesus. More people come to church on Christmas and Easter than any other time of the year. When my sons were younger, their Mother would say -It's Jesus' birthday, which is a trend that I am seeing now more than ever.

Of course in hard economic times such as these, I also know of many parents who were very stressed about whether or not their children would "have Christmas." Having Christmas, in today's terms, means having toys to open under the Christmas tree.

There are others that wonder why the fruits of our labor, the hard work that we've all done over the course of the year can put so little under the tree. People literally stress out looking for sales and bargains, while others go deeper into debt - for gifts for all those around us.

We really pay attention to showing others that we care - and we do it by sharing gifts. Every year... we struggle hard to do this... More than one time this year, I've heard these words uttered to this effect - "I don't know why I try, you don't deserve this..." or even worse... recipients of a GIFT not thankful for what was given.

There is a difference between gifts under a tree and fruit on a tree. Gifts under a tree brings temporary happiness, where fruit on a tree brings life. As Christians, we should truly be more concerned with the fruit on our tree and how we show that to others!

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 (King James)

Were there times when we didn't show these fruits this season? If so, we should concentrate on trimming our spiritual tree a little more than the care we spent making sure our Christmas tree looked good...

Trust me, I'm not trying to make you feel bad. Let's call it - good old fashioned Christian accountability. When I was in college and involved in campus ministry the leadership team would keep each other in check by quoting Philippians 4:8 to each other when we weren't totally being Christlike. It hurt to be called out in front of each other... but it helped us become aware of just how visible our life is to others.

So, I leave you with this checklist to keep in the back of your mind. When you go through your day take a quick pulse check to make sure you're concentrating on the right thing...

Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious - the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. Philippians 4:8 (The Message)