I am so excited to share today’s devotion with you. Y’all know how much I love Christmas. It’s no secret. I don’t even try to hide it. Not even in June. Nope. I wear my Christmas joy, all year long!
You might have seen the article about Linus and his security blanket that many people are posting again. I believe the article was written in 2015. The article pointed out that when Linus gets up and recites Luke 2:8-14, and says the words, “fear not,” he drops his security blanket. Pretty powerful, right? Charles Schulz was a bold, brave man of faith, and obviously made no bones about it, when he wrote “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”
Granted, in 1965 when this came out, it was a much nicer time, I believe, with more of a focus on why we celebrate Christmas. (I was not yet born, but I know from history, Christian faith seemed to be more prominent then). But even back then, not everyone was raised in a Christian home, and Charles Schulz knew he had an incredible opportunity to reach young children and teach them the meaning of Christmas!
Okay, so our pastor, Steve Lawes, has an incredible, incredible gift and talent of pointing to Jesus. One of the things I love most about Steve is his humility. Everything is about Jesus, not him. But I want to brag on him for a minute because this was another one of those, “game changers” for me. Last Sunday, Steve talked about how he likes to show this clip (where Linus drops the blanket) and how he very much believes that was no accident on Schulz’s part.
Remember the infomercials where “today only, act now, because for $19.99 you can get all of this! But wait, there’s more!” Remember those? This is one of those moments. But wait, there’s more!
Steve went on to remind us about Charlie Brown’s sad little tree. It was small, and almost pitiful. Remember? They sang, “Oh Christmas Tree,” but then, this is where the, “Oh wow” moment comes into play. They came together and sang, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” And Linus wrapped his blanket around the bottom of the tree.
The significance? Placing his insecurities and his fears at the foot of the cross. Go ahead. Rub your arms and shake the chills away. I had to do that, too. Steve broke me down last Sunday with that image. Terry and I both were crying, it was just such a powerful, beautiful reminder.
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)
Steve reminded us that when Linus recited the scripture during the play, he dropped his “security blanket” when he said, “fear not.” But then what did Linus do? He picked up his blanket again. Steve reminded us we have a tendency to do that. We get all wrapped up in the goodness of God, but then we pick up our insecurities again. But the peace of God is the greatest gift we were given, through Jesus Christ. We do not have to be afraid. We do not have to live in fear, or consumed with worry. Like Linus reminded us, we can wrap it all around the tree … laying it at the foot of the cross.
Paul reminded us over and over not to worry, but to pray. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then, and only then (I added the only then for emphasis and reminder) will we experience God’s peace … which exceeds anything we can understand.
I don’t know what your insecurities are. I don’t know what struggles and heavy burden you are carrying around, but whatever it is, I want you to picture it like Linus; blue blanket. Wrap it around the little tree and place it at the foot of the cross. God’s peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.