Well, it’s less than two months until Christmas. Already in many stores the decorations are in place. And if not, they will certainly be up after Saturday. We used to wait until the day after Thanksgiving. Now it is the first day of November. Sometimes I think we have jumped the gun.
On the other hand, I sing in our church choir. We have been practicing Christmas music since the first week of September. We do so every year. On December 13 we will have a special day of music in our church as the choir sings what is called a Cantata. It’s a program of eight songs with Scripture and the story of Jesus’ birth narrated between songs. It’s a lot of fun for those of us singing, and if I do say so myself, we’re not half bad thanks to our great leader, Terry Barnard.
Still, it’s feels funny to be singing Christmas music for four months. We only practice an hour a week, so we aren’t like the Hallmark Channel that shows Christmas movies all year round. But we are definitely singing those eight arrangements over and over until Terry is satisfied that we are prepared to sing. And it’s actually a lot of fun.
Sometimes we do things that seem to be out of place. Singing Christmas songs in September is only one of them. Taking a stand for Jesus when all of neighbors and family and friends are on the other side of the issue can be another time. I’ve had my share of times when someone I loved simply shook their head and said, “I don’t know why you are drawing the line here. Everyone else is with us.” And I have watched sadly as they have walked away from me.
Jesus told us that we would often be in the minority. He said that the road to life was narrow, while the road to destruction was wide. The implication is that the road to destruction needs more room because more folks would take it. Robert Frost once wrote, “I took the road less traveled, and that made all the difference in the world.”
I would invite you to take narrow road, the one less traveled, if you will. Jesus invites us to follow Him. There will be times when it is lonely to do so. But you have this promise to trust. The Lord will be with you. He will never forsake you.
