Area Message
Jesus Christ, the Center of our Lives for this Christmas Season
The Christmas season is a time of reflection on the blessings we have received from a loving Father in Heaven and the love from our Savior Jesus Christ. During this season, we hear Christmas carols to help us remember what our Savior did for us and help us celebrate His birth, life, Atonement, and Resurrection. His life and Atonement are the best gifts our Father in Heaven gave to us: “For God so love the world, that he gave his only begotten Son”1.
Every Christmas season, some Filipino homes are decorated with star-shaped lanterns which are known as parol, from the Spanish word farol which means “lantern’ or “lamp”.
Having grown up in the province of Pampanga, I have always been fascinated by the large Christmas lantern or parol the province is popular for. These giant lanterns are full of bright colors with intricate designs, displaying the brilliant and beautiful combination of about 5,000 light bulbs skillfully embedded inside the lantern by master craftsmen.
For us, what does the parol mean at Christmas?
If we trace the history of the parol, it goes back during the Spanish era in the Philippines, when the Spaniards brought Christianity to the islands. Parols were initially used to light the way to church in the early days. The parol lights the way for many travelers.
We, as followers of Christ, should also light the way for others. We can read in Matthew 5:15–16 that we become a light unto others through Christlike example because when “men light a candle … on a candlestick … it giveth light unto all that are in the house”. Moreover, it teaches us that the light or example we show to others is so that they may “see your good works and glorify” our Father in Heaven.
We can be like a parol. Christ can be the light inside. In the same way the Spaniards used the parol as instruments to guide others to the doors of sacred places, so can we be instruments in the hands of Heavenly Father to hold the light of Christ for those who are in the dark. With our help, the people around us can be led to sacred places where they can feel the love of the Savior Jesus Christ.
How can we hold the light of Christ to lead others toward the covenant path?
President Russel M. Nelson spoke of becoming instruments in the God’s hand. He taught “I have a firm belief that praying for those in need is pleasing to God; in fact, He commands us to turn to Him and to pray for others! However, it is my own personal experience that when I ask God in prayer for direction on what I can do to help minister, lift, love, and support those in need, He answers these prayers with specific and simple things I can actually do to bless one of His children.”
“I invite you to consider how your thoughts and prayers can be a catalyst for God to inspire and direct you toward acts of kindness, compassion, and generosity. Imagine how much good you could do in the world—and in your own family, school, and workplace. As we seek to be His healing and helping hands, we surely will exalt the Lord.”2
Surely, we have many opportunities this Christmas season and throughout the year to be an instrument for God in showing kindness, charity, compassion, forgiveness, and love for others. Like the parol, as we emulate the examples of our Savior, we make Jesus Christ’s light our center. He becomes the center of our lives, motivating all that we do and who we are. This Christmas season, may we choose to place Him at the center of our lives and continue to hold Him in our lives through the years to come.
Our Savior Jesus Christ showed many examples of love and compassion for others. We learned that Jesus Christ raised the son of the widow of Nain from the dead. He traveled far from Capernaum but when the Lord saw the widow He had compassion on her and said “weep not”. And He bade the young man to ‘arise’.3 The woman taken into adultery was brought before Christ where He set an example of forgiveness and kindness. It was during this time our Savior taught us “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”4 He is truly the light of the world, and with His help we can be a light unto others.
There are many examples in our lives that have shown Christlike attributes and love for others. When our children were young, our bishop requested that I bring sacrament to a sister named Irma who resided in a senior assisted living institution. Like the people who were in the dark, she did not have the capacity to regularly receive the light of the Savior through partaking of the sacrament. As a family, we would bring the sacrament bread and water to her each Sunday. Our children would hold up the light of Christ by sharing their testimony or lessons they have learned from their classes and the sacrament meeting. From this experience we learned about compassion and Christlike love.
May our good works light the way for others, like a parol, to Jesus Christ who is the center of our lives this Christmas season.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is our Savior’s gift to us. He came into this world to do the will of His Father because the Father sent Him so he could draw all men unto Him. You can be an instrument for God by being Christlike. May each of us find time to reflect on the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ and his invitation for us to come unto Him. Let us focus on our Savior Jesus Christ as the center of our lives this Christmas Season.