Christmas Eve
I just shared the following with some of my ministry partners, and I decided I would like to share it with all my dear readers.
It's Christmas Eve!! As we approach the day on which we celebrate
the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, I am filled with awe at the
amazing grace that represents. Imagine, the Creator of everything, the
author of life itself, humbled Himself to come and do for us what we
could not do for ourselves. He could have come as a mighty king, because
of course, that is Who He is, but instead He chose to enter the world
as the son of a poor, unwed, teenaged girl who gave birth in a stable
many miles from home.
And yet the true
beauty and amazing import of the Christmas story is really contained in
the Easter story, when He willingly laid down His life by dying on a
Roman cross overlooking a garbage dump, having been "convicted" in a
kangaroo court of a crime He did not commit so that you and I could be
washed clean and given the gift of life.
He
never owned a home or wrote a book or asked for anything for Himself.
Instead, He became the spotless Lamb of God, that was slain for the sins
of many. "Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11)
Therefore,
amidst the twinkling lights and the smell of evergreens and the
excitement and joy of reunions with loved ones and the giving and
receiving of gifts and the possibility of snow decorating the landscape,
let us take out time enough to recognize that without Jesus, the world
would be without hope. I propose that in return for His gift of
everlasting life, we give Him our hearts, our souls, our minds and our
strength, and that we make sure to love our neighbors as much as we love
ourselves. After all, Jesus deserves to have His stocking filled, too!
Amazing gift amazing that God would send his son as a baby and bring him back to himself as the savior of the world. That is greatest story on Earth.
ReplyDeleteThis truly humbles me and makes me awestruck all at the same time. Thank you for sharing Tom. God bless you and your sweetheart as the New Year approaches with great hope because He is in control. Donalynn :-)
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