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The Ornaments: The Christmas Tree Analogy pt. 5

When we think of Christmas trees the primary thing I think most people think of is the lights and ornaments hanging on the branches. They are colorful and catch our eye. In many respects, the tree is there solely to support the beautiful and eye catching ornaments. They are the center of attention in many cases.

In our analogy of the Christmas tree for theology and faith, the ornaments serve much the same function with one major exception; the tree does not exist to support the ornaments. They are often the thing that everyone gravitates towards and gawks at. The ornaments are usually the things that get our blood boiling and start arguments, and they can quickly consume all of our attention. This forgets the fact that the living tree supporting them is actually far more important.

So what do I mean by ornaments? These are the hot button issues of our time or particular place. For example, in the Churches of Christ the question of instrumental music is unquestionably a flashy ornament that garners a lot of attention. We often argue over this question whilst forgetting that it hangs on the branch of devotion and worship, which grows from the trunk of discipleship, which in turn grows from the root of Jesus being our King and Savior, worthy of praise. 

The ornaments hang on the branches but aren't really a part of the tree. Ornaments change over time, some more frequently than others. They tend to attract attention and debate, but in truth they are just a very specific issue attached to the larger Christian faith. A good example of changing ornaments is that of divorce and remarriage. This was at one point not too long ago the central, debated issue in a lot of churches. Now issues like gay marriage have taken its place.

The other issue with ornaments is that because people gravitate towards them they will often make the whole faith about having the right decorations on the tree without making sure the tree itself is healthy and growing. This leads to a lot of Christians, I fear, having a faith akin to Charlie Brown's Christmas tree. It's weak, small, and unable to hold more than one ornament.

I genuinely think this is one reason that many leave the faith. We make it about the ornaments when the tree can't actually hold them. The roots haven't grown deep. The trunk is thin and frail. The branches are flaccid and weak. Start piling ornaments onto a weak tree and the tree snaps. 

Is it important to have discussions about the ornaments of our faith? Yes. However, it is far more important that we focus on growing the tree. This starts with the roots, the fundamentals of the faith whose name is Jesus. The trunk and branches naturally grow out of this. When we are rooted firmly in Christ and growing in discipleship, then we can address the popular issues of our day because we will have the strength and capacity to deal with them in a Christ like manner.

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