ryan good

An Unconventional Christmas

Kara and I are celebrating our first Christmas as a married couple this year. You might think it would be just like any other Christmas, but truth be told it is quite different. For those of you who may not know; Kara and I are living in New York City; serving in a church plant. Already our lives are very unconventional, especially for newly weds, so it only makes sense that our Christmas would be the same. The thought hit me as I watched Kara open her first set of gifts last night, yes the 16th of December, a full 9 days before Christmas. The funny thing is I wrapped them not 30 minutes earlier and even told her she had to stay in the living room as I wrapped the gift. It was all very funny and very VERY much us.

You may wonder what the point of wrapping the present was in the first place. In everyone there is still something that longs for the unseen. That joy that comes from tearing into the wrapping paper with each piece hoping it’s what you’ve always wanted and have begged for the entire year to get. Even when you are the one giving, the look on the other persons face stirs inside you feelings of pure elation as they discover what they already knew; that you love them. No matter what your thoughts or theology on gift giving as a way to “celebrate” the birth of Christ, you cannot deny the fact that through gift giving we see a small glimpse of the grace God has given to all of us. That glimpse is the smile on that loved ones face that says “You do care”.

This tangible vision of grace has brought me to the realization that the conventional is not for us. As people called to spread the gospel, the conventional idea of life simply will not do. To live within convention would be to give up on the divine inspiration that we have been given.

So with that I leave you with a challenge to live an unconventional life; what a better time to start than Christmas. A time when an unconventional king was born so that all may be free from the bondage that has plagued us for far too long.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS FROM THE GOODS!!!