Tattletale!
I Thessalonians 3:12-13 (NIV)
12 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.
13 May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all His holy ones.
Good morning!
“Tattletale!” I can still hear the words ringing in my mind. “I didn’t do it – she did it!” I cannot remember how many times I said those words to my mother. Telling on my little sister was easy to do. She was an inquisitive and mischievous child, allowing her curiosity to lead the way in her many adventures.
I’ll never forget the day Pammy conquered the Christmas tree. She was barely two years old at the time. Decorating the Christmas tree was a special time. Our parents would select the perfect tree from a nearby Christmas tree lot and bring it home to decorate. My father would strategically place the tree in the basement, right next to the stairwell. We would spend hours stringing popcorn, cranberries, and baking gingerbread cookies to decorate our tree. We cut strips of brightly colored construction paper, making chains to drape around the tree. My mother cut triangles from felt and created miniature candy cones. She would fill the cones with gumballs, fashion a hook from pipe cleaners, and we would hang them on the tree. A set of antique glass ornaments handed down from their families were added as a finishing touch. Silver tinsel was carefully placed on each branch. We loved how the lights would make the tinsel shimmer at night. Decorating the Christmas tree was a special treat we enjoyed every December.
Little Pammy loved to eat Christmas cookies. She especially liked to help herself to a little mid-afternoon snack right from the Christmas tree. “Mom, Pammy is eating the Christmas tree cookies again,” I would announce in a matter-of-fact voice. Mom decided that the cookies needed to be moved up a little higher, just out of baby’s reach. “Don’t eat those cookies,” Mother shook her finger at both of us. “They are decorations, and not for snacks.”
With a sparkle in her eye, Pammy knew there must be another way to reach the coveted prize. One chilly December afternoon, Mommy and I were upstairs in the living room when we heard a huge crash. The sound of breaking glass crackled through the air. We raced to the basement, only to find little Pammy sitting on top of the toppled Christmas tree, enjoying a cookie and grinning from ear to ear. Apparently, she decided to squeeze through the slats on the stairwell to reach one of those cookies Mom had moved up high, lost her balance, and rode the tree down! Broken ornaments and shards of Christmas lights covered the linoleum floor. Pammy wasn’t hurt, thank goodness, but the tree was an absolute disaster. When Mom realized that Pammy was not hurt, she began to laugh and cry at the same time. They lost almost every antique ornament that year; yet the memory of their little girl perched on top of the toppled tree, eating a Christmas cookie, was a sight we would never forget.
It is hard to imagine standing before the presence of the Lord, holy and blameless. Jesus understands how tempting sin can be. We take things that don’t belong to us; we disobey when we know better. Our Lord sees it all and He knows the depth of our hearts. He gave himself as a living sacrifice, taking on our sin and imperfections. He chose to hang on that tree, His blood flowing down, covering all of our sin. Now we can stand before the Father holy and blameless, clothed in the righteousness of Christ alone.
As we prepare to decorate our Christmas trees this year, take a moment to step back and remember the tree that held our Savior as He bled and died and rose again. He did this, so that we could stand blameless before the Father on the day of His return.
Grace and peace,
Deb Spaulding
Pray for: the sweetest treat you will ever receive – the love of Christ! You don’t have to swipe it from the tree – it is His gift, freely given for you and for me.
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©Copyright 2006, Deb Spaulding
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