I’m still playing Christmas music in my office. I didn’t have time to listen to every one of the CD’s that I wanted to hear before Christmas. I didn’t have time to listen to my favorite CD’s enough before Christmas. But it’s more than that.

Christmas has become a maximum celebration with a minimum of contemplation. Even in the Church, we do the Christmas stuff-get the bulletins out, prepare the music, get the candle ready, and on and on. But, there is little time to think. The nice thing about this week after Christmas is that it gives me some time to think about what God did at Christmas. It gives me a little time to contemplate.

There is so little time in a day to contemplate, to think, to reflect on anything. These e-devotions (and Blog) give me a discipline to write (which is just thinking in a way that others can see) on a regular basis. Without this discipline, I tend to just move from one item on my “to do” list to the next. During the Christmas season (the weeks after Christmas) I can reflect on what Christ’s birth means.

What strikes me most is the tremendous cost of salvation. Holy Week is a natural time to think about the cost that Jesus paid to win us salvation, but Christmas has a cost as well. To leave heaven and be born into this world was a tremendous price for Jesus to pay. That the infinite and eternal God would accept the confines of time as space cost Christ. But He willingly, even joyfully, paid that price because He wanted me to live with Him forever.

There is a lot to think about at Christmas.