The shadow of our Christmas tree
HE WHO HAS NO CHRISTMAS IN HIS HEART WILL NEVER FIND IT UNDER A TREE
This is the story of our Christmas this year. This days we are celebrating 20 long years since the fall of the communist regime, but the truth about the revolution and the genocide is still in the dark. The communism time was ended, but the communists are still running the show. Every year, before Christmas, we remember those days when the youth of our nation stood up and died for our freedom. They shouted "God is with us!" Now, we can only see the disappointment in their children eyes hoping that their parents did not died in vain.
Twenty years ago, the Truth was born in the NO God's country, but His light is fading away ever since. I remember our first free Christmas, a real celebration of our Savior's birth, but... (fast forward 20 years) What happened meanwhile? Wow, our Christmas is looking so good: millions of lights flooding the city, trees, decorations, hypermarkets, presents, Christmas songs of all kinds, Santa driving the Coca-Cola truck... exactly as we've seen in the movies and we dreamed of years ago.
Well, I hope I'm so wrong, but this is all about Christmas. I know it sounds familiar for many of us, but when I look back I see that the person we were celebrating 20 years ago is not here anymore. I can still hear about a baby boy born in a manger, but he's so tiny and helpless. There is not much about the God who was born to die for us. It seems that someone needs to die in order to have a free country or an eternal life. But if we forget about the sacrifice, we're missing the point.
This year, for the first time, the city hall decided to set up a stage in the main square of our city for all the organizations, churches, groups, schools, bands... who have something to offer related to this holidays. Every evening, for almost a month, the square was animated by carols, dramas, presents, celebrations... In this context, two of our baptist churches in town decided to get involved and bring the real message of Christmas. A collective effort to mobilize several choirs, musical groups around a creative message. For the hundreds of people in the square, the real story of Christmas was revealed in a totally new perspective: the Christmas tree turned into a cross! This is the spirit of Christmas, so let's spread it out!
Thank you for all these years when you were walking along side us in the Ministry, helping us reflect His light in Romania. There is still much darkness in here, so we're in the field following His call. We cannot see the future, but we can trust, hope and follow the one, true spirit of Christmas, the born to die Master of the Univers, our God.
The pictures are more relevant, so please take a look. You can watch a slide show from the event in the square and also a recent interesting documentary on the Romanian revolution. More info on the Revolution on Times and CNN.
