I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. – John 16:33 (NIV)
There are so many iconic images and moments in the beloved classic, A Charlie Brown Christmas. One I specifically love is when Charlie Brown takes his sad little tree home to decorate it, determined to prove it’s worthy for the school Christmas play. But when he tries to put an ornament on his tree, it bends in such a manner that Charlie Brown thinks he has killed it in typical Charlie Brown fashion. “Good grief!”
A HEART OF GOLD
That tree, and how Charlie reacts, seem to me like a metaphor for our lives. “Poor Charlie Brown.” Nothing ever goes his way, despite his heart of gold. It’s often hard to see hope through the lens of our “good grief” moments and seeming failures. It’s easy to feel lost, isolated and misunderstood. If we keep this sentiment in mind when we look back at this scene, we can see how the Gospel and the redemptive, restorative power of Jesus becomes so paramount.
Jesus tells us that in this world we will have trouble but to take heart for he has overcome it (John 16:33). No matter how hard we try, we will inevitably encounter “good grief” moments. But it doesn’t have to be the repeated script of our lives.
A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE
As the scene continued, Linus, seeing Charlie Brown depressed about his tree, wraps his beloved blanket around the tree base, while the rest of the Peanut gang dress up the tree using Snoopy’s decorations, ultimately transforming it into a beautiful Christmas tree. The scene culminates in a glorious rendition of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” What a beautiful picture of Jesus’ restoration and redemptive power this is. Despite how dark we think things are, how much we may think we fail at life, or how broken things may seem, that is not how God sees us.
God knows our heart and loves us so much that he sent Jesus to redeem and restore us. “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” Colossians 1:13–14 (NIV).
This season, remember that God loves us; he is for us; and our perceived failures are just an opportunity for him to create something even more beautiful, something even more than we could ask or imagine.
Reflect: Where in your life are you feeling like you are failing no matter how hard you try? Where do you feel isolated or alone? Where do you need the restorative power of Jesus?
