The habit of quiet may be harder today than ever before. Don’t get me wrong: it’s always been hard. The rise and spread of technology, however, tends to crowd out quiet even more. Now that we can carry the whole wide and wild world in our pockets, it’s that much harder to keep the world at bay. Our phones always promise another update to see, image to like, website to visit, game to play, text to read, stream to watch, forecast to monitor, podcast to download, headline to scan, article to skim, score to check, price to compare. That kind of access, and semblance of control, can begin to make quiet moments feel like wasted ones. Who could sit and be still while so much life rushes by? Even if we don’t immediately pick up our phones, we’re often still held captive by them, wondering what new they might hold — what we might be missing.
As hard as quiet might be to come by, however, it’s still a life-saving, soul-strengthening habit for any human soul. The God who made this wide and wild world, and who molded our finite and fragile frames, says of us, “In quietness and in trust shall be your strength” (Isaiah 30:15). In days filled with noise, do you still find time to be this kind of strong? Or has stress and distraction slowly eroded your spiritual health? How often do you stop to be quiet? What God Does with Quiet What kind of quietness produces strength? Not all quietness does. We could sell our televisions, give away our phones, move to the countryside, and still be as weak as ever. No, “in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” The quiet we need is a quiet filled with God. Quietness becomes strength only when our stillness says that we need Him. Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! (Psalm 46:10) This still, trusting quietness defies self-reliance. Quietness can preach reality to our souls like few habits can. It says that He is God, and we are not; He knows all, and we know little; He is strong, and we are weak. Quietness widens our eyes to the bigness of God and the smallness of us. It brings us low enough to see how high and wise and worthy He is. You can begin to see why quietness can be so hard. It’s deeply (sometimes ruthlessly) humbling. For it to say something true and beautiful about God, it first says something true and devastating about us. Our quietness says, “Without Him, you can do nothing.” Our refusal to be quiet, on the other hand, says, “I can do a whole lot on my own” — and that feels good to hear. It just robs us of the real strength and help we might have found. God strengthens the quiet with His strength, because quietness turns weakness and neediness into worship (2 Corinthians 12:9–10). We get the strength and help and joy; He gets the glory. But You Were Unwilling The context of Isaiah’s words, however, is not inspiring, but sobering. God says to His people, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” But you were unwilling . . . (Isaiah 30:15–16) Quietness would have made them strong, but they wouldn’t have it. Assyria was bearing down on Judah, threatening to crush them as it had crushed many before them. And how do God’s people respond? “Ah, stubborn children,” declares the Lord, “who carry out a plan, but not Mine, and who make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; who set out to go down to Egypt, without asking for My direction.” (Isaiah 30:1–2) Even after watching Him deliver them so many times before, they cast His plan aside and made their own. They sought help, but not from Him. They went back to Egypt (of all places!) and asked those who had enslaved and oppressed them to protect them. And they didn’t even stop to ask what God thought. They did, and did, and did, at every turn refusing to stop, be quiet, and receive the strength and support of God. I would rush to help you, God says, but you were unwilling. You weren’t patient or humble enough to receive My help. “How often do we choose activity over quietness, distraction over meditation, ‘productivity’ over prayer?” Why would they refuse the sovereign help of God? Deep down, we know why. Because they felt safer doing what they could do on their own than they did waiting to see what God might do. How often do we do the same? How often do we choose activity over quietness, distraction over meditation, “productivity” over prayer? How often do we try to solve our problems without slowing down enough to first seek God? Consequences of Avoiding Quiet Self-reliance is, of course, not as productive as it promises to be — at least not in the ways we would want. The people’s refusal to be quiet and ask God for help not only cut them off from His strength, but also invited other painful consequences. First, the sin of self-reliance breeds more sin. Again, God says in verse 1, “‘Ah, stubborn children,’ declares the Lord, ‘who carry out a plan, but not Mine, and who make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, that they may add sin to sin.” The more we refuse the strength of God, the more we invite temptations to sin. Quiet keeps us close to God and aware of Him. A scarcity of quiet pushes Him to the margins of our hearts, making room for Satan to plant and tend lies within us. Second, their refusal to be quiet before God made them vulnerable to irrational fear. Because they fought in their own strength, the Lord says, “A thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you shall flee” (Isaiah 30:17). A lone soldier will send a thousand into a panic. The whole nation will crumble and surrender to just five men. In other words, you will be controlled and oppressed by irrational fears. You’ll run away when no one’s chasing you. You’ll lose sleep when there’s nothing to worry about. And right when you’re about to experience a breakthrough, you’ll despair and give up. Fears swell and flourish as long as God remains small and peripheral. Quiet time with God, however, scatters those fears by enlarging and inflaming our thoughts of Him. The weightiest warning, however, comes in verse 13: those who forsake God’s word, God’s help, God’s way invite sudden ruin. “This iniquity shall be to you like a breach in a high wall, bulging out and about to collapse, whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant.” Confidence in self drove a crack in the strongholds around them — a crack that grew and spread until the walls collapsed on top of them. All because they refused to embrace quiet and trust God. “In quietness and trust would be our strength; in busyness and pride will be our downfall.” For Judah, ruin meant falling into the cruel hands of the Assyrians. The walls will fall differently for us, but fall they will, if we let busyness and noise keep us from dependence. In quietness and trust would be our strength; in busyness and pride will be our downfall. Mercy for the Self-Reliant In the rhythms of our lives, do we make time to be quiet before God? Do we expect God to do more for us while we sit and pray than we can do by pushing through without Him? If verse 15 humbles us — “But you were unwilling . . .” — verse 18 should humble us all the more. As Judah hurries and worries and strategizes and plans and recruits help and works overtime, all the while avoiding God, how does God respond to them? What is He doing while they refuse to stop doing and be quiet? Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore He exalts Himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him. (Isaiah 30:18) While we refuse to wait for Him, God waits to be gracious to us. He’s not watching to see if He’ll be forced to show us mercy; He wants to show us mercy. The God of heaven, the one before time, above time, and beyond time, waits for us to ask for help. He loves to hear the sound of quiet trust. Blessed — happy — are those who wait for Him, who know their need for Him, who ask Him for help, who find their strength in His strength, who learn to be and stay quiet before Him. -- Marshall Segal
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It’s inevitable and universal, as soon as Christmas winds down and December 31 appears on our phones, we all face a new year with new opportunities. Many are resolving to lose weight or gain greater income or set some other goal, typically requiring willpower and time management skills—both of which often fade within a few weeks.
If God were writing our resolutions, what do you think He would come up with? I think God wants us to make “time for a change.” Throughout the Bible, we see that God is a God of change. He’s the ultimate game-changer, a change-agent that changes things, people, hearts, and minds. But it requires a slight, but powerful, paradigm shift of the rudders steering our energies and expressions. We’re all given the same amount of time, and as hard as we try, our calendars often have more control over our schedules and lives than we realize. We get caught trying to do more within our allotted days, leading us to fatigue and frustration when we can’t check off the items on our list. God doesn’t have the same time management problem we do. He’s “omni-everything.” He is The Great I Am, who was and is and is to come. He’s the Alpha and Omega. What really matters if we look through His lens, which is not restricted to a clock? How should we use our time in His mind? What does God consider effective use of our time? From His vantage point, life is more of a question about priority and perspective, not time—a life of meaning, not efficiency. The Bible says our lifespan is like a “vapor” that vanishes quickly. Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.—James 4:13–14 After reading that, you can feel that God is way more concerned about meaning rather than urgency or efficiency. He wants us to do the meaningful things now, because we may not have time tomorrow. Instead of making a list of resolutions and trying to cram more into your day, consider making just one. Make time for a change. Here are a few suggestions:
It takes wisdom to make time for a change and adjust your calendar to do what is really important. This year, when you look at your calendar, what will really shape your life? -- By Kenny Luck When I was a child, I hated the days after Christmas. I’d gotten all my gifts and had nothing to look forward to. Likely, it was a problem with ingratitude. I often thought I should have gotten something better or had missed out on something. As an adult, I’ve had the same feelings of unfulfillment after Christmas and have learned to keep busy to fight feelings of depression. The buildup to Christmas is such a busy time. But those first quiet days after Christmas, I find it hard to keep up all that positivity. I think I’ve grown out of the child’s ingratitude with my Christmas gifts, and it’s more about exhaustion catching up to me, after all that energy poured into others.
Christmas reminds me of my youth, of people I’ve loved, of sweet memories and also some bittersweet ones, as I think about losses. So many Christmases have come and gone, as time has flown into the present day. So many Christmases filled with giving and receiving, family and loved ones, and remembering those present and those past. But then, as I lovingly pack away my Christmas ornaments until next year and begin looking forward to the New Year, I get excited. I write lists. I plan my year. I clean out cupboards, cubbyholes, and my computer’s desktop. I purge my possessions, and it tends to cleanse my mind and prepare me for what’s ahead. I look at loss with eyes of gratitude for having lived and loved. I thank God for all the change that the coming year will bring. My after-Christmas blues turn into New Year’s anticipation. -- Joyce Suttin
By Sneider, Colombia
This year our Christmas celebration was very special for the children, thanks to the help and generosity of you, dear Family, and three local foundations (Fundación Los Yeyitos, Fundación ALIVE, Proyecto Florecer). These foundations have been helping our community dining room throughout the year since we opened. A few days before the main Christmas event that we host each year, these people came and provided toys for children and bags of market goods for families and the elderly. In the Christmas event, we were able to share food, gifts, and God’s love with 40 extended families (approximately 350 to 400 people). We provided a day of recreation and games for the young people and children. That night, all the children received toys and there was dinner for all the attendees and helpers. A friend who is a singer came to share his talent with the children. We were able to share bags of goods from the market with the families. Overall, we had a celebration full of surprises, good food, and lots of fun. This project has been recognized for hosting many people for many years. This significant event has had a great impact among the surrounding neighborhoods. This has made community members feel that they are important to other people. Every year they look forward to this event that provides a very special day of celebration for everyone! One of the paradoxes of the modern world is that the majority of people who celebrate Christmas in one way or another have never really heard the real Christmas story. Even many of those who’ve seen Nativity displays, adverts, or Christmas movie clips and can identify the characters—Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, some shepherds, some wise men, some angels—don’t actually know what happened to them or why it matters. That’s hardly their fault. The Christmas ecosystem has become cluttered with commercial interests that detract from its message. To be honest, most of us could use a refresher which you will find below. May you and yours have a wonderful and happy Christmas!
The Birth of Jesus The story of Jesus’ life begins with the story of His birth, as told in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The Old Testament foretold His coming, revealing specific information about the promised Savior, and in the Gospels, we find the fulfillment of the predictions regarding Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, which brought salvation to the world. When writing their accounts of Jesus’ birth, Matthew and Luke present different aspects and include different events, while at the same time covering much of the same ground and making the same significant points. Matthew’s account focuses on Joseph and his role, while Luke tells the story from Mary’s perspective. Matthew describes Joseph as a “righteous” man, meaning that he was an observant Jew who kept the laws of God. He was betrothed to a young woman named Mary who “before the marriage took place … became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 1:18 NLT) In first-century Palestine, betrothal was a period of engagement during which Mary was already considered Joseph’s wife, although they hadn’t yet started living together. It’s during this period that Mary became pregnant. Luke’s gospel tells us that the angel Gabriel was sent to tell Mary that she had found favor with God: He came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you! ... For you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High … and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.” (Luke 1:28, 30–35 ESV ) This conception is like no other throughout history. Mary becomes pregnant through a creative act of God. We’re not told exactly how this creative act occurred any more than we’re told the details of how God created the world, other than that He spoke it and made it so. Mary gives her consent when she says, “I am the Lord’s servant! Let it happen as you have said.” (Luke 1:38 CEV) The angel gives Mary a sign that these things will happen: he tells her that her elderly relative, Elizabeth, has also conceived a son. “Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah” to visit Elizabeth who, just as Gabriel said, had also miraculously conceived a son, though she was past childbearing age. (See Luke 1:39 ESV.) After staying with Elizabeth for approximately three months, Mary returns home to Nazareth. Upon her return, she is faced with the obvious problem that she is three months pregnant, and Joseph knows that he isn’t the father. We can only imagine the hurt, pain, sadness, betrayal, and anger that Joseph must have felt as he “thought about these things.” (Matthew 1:20) If Joseph accused Mary of having committed adultery, the Mosaic law stated that she could be stoned to death. (See Deuteronomy 22:20–21.) But Joseph, “unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.” (8. Matthew 1:19 ESV) It wasn’t possible to have a totally secret divorce, as the writ or certificate of divorce had to be delivered in the presence of two witnesses, and no matter what reason Joseph would have given, everyone would have concluded that adultery was the real reason. By saying Joseph resolved to divorce her quietly, Matthew meant that Joseph wasn’t going to publicly accuse Mary of adultery. For Joseph, a righteous man who kept the laws of God, divorcing Mary is the right thing to do, but he’s going to be merciful in how he goes about it by not giving adultery as the reason. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. (Matthew 1:20–21, 24–25 NIV) The message given to him in the dream put an end to thoughts of divorce. The angel tells him that the child is from the Holy Spirit, and therefore he doesn’t need to fear that he will be breaking God’s law by marrying her, as no adultery was committed. Joseph then fulfills the second step of marriage by taking Mary into his home as his wife, thus assuming responsibility for Mary and becoming the legal father of the child who is to be born. Some months after Mary returned from her visit with Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph embarked on a trip to Bethlehem. We’re told that the reason for this trip was that Caesar Augustus had ordered a census, and Jewish custom required Joseph to travel to Bethlehem, his ancestral home, as he was of the house and lineage of King David. Luke describes how Joseph went from Nazareth, in the province of Galilee, to Bethlehem, a village in Judea six miles from Jerusalem, to be registered, and Mary accompanied him. While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for her to give birth. “And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:6–7) In the fields around Bethlehem, there were shepherds watching their sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:9–12 NLT) This was the third time an angel appeared to announce what God was doing in bringing Jesus into the world. The first was to Mary, the next one to Joseph, and now to the shepherds. In this case, the glory of the Lord—God’s radiance in the form of a brilliant light—shone around the shepherds. We are then told that “suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!’” (Luke 2:13–14) While making an offering in the temple when Jesus was about one month old, Joseph and Mary met Simeon, a righteous and devout man who was “eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. When Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, Simeon … took the child in his arms and praised God, saying … ‘I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!’” (Luke 2:25, 27–28, 30–32 NLT) Joseph and Mary marveled, or were astonished, at the words Simeon spoke about their Son. (See Luke 2:33.) Matthew describes other aspects of Jesus’ birth, including the visit of the Magi which by the way happened about two years after Jesus’ birth: “Wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.’” (Matthew 2:1–2) It’s not specifically known where the wise men were from, but the most important fact is that they came from outside of Israel. Matthew illustrates how God is doing a new thing by highlighting the fact that, at Jesus’ birth, Gentiles are attracted by the light of God’s Son. When the wise men came to Bethlehem, “they entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:11 NLT) We’re never told how many Magi there were, though tradition holds that there were three, based on the three gifts listed. As we come to the end of the story of Jesus’ birth, we can see the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a Messiah to redeem humanity beginning to unfold. Since His promise was to be fulfilled within the world, God chose to enter the time and physicality of the world. God sent His Son into the care of two faithful believers, fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies about the coming Savior, and set the stage for His promised salvation. God entering the world and living among His creation for the purpose of reconciling humanity to Himself through His Son’s death and resurrection is the most significant event in human history. The Gospels tell us how Jesus’ life, from birth to death and beyond, fulfills God’s promises and shows His great love for humanity by making it possible for us to become His children.
As I rushed around the streets of Morelia, Mexico, the stoplights were crowded with beggars. It was Christmas Eve, and I had gone out with my 10-year-old daughter Cathy for some last-minute shopping. “Look at her!” Cathy drew my attention to an old woman who had stopped begging momentarily and was rubbing her cold, bare feet.
“She’s someone’s grandmother,” I thought aloud, “but instead of being home with her family, she is out here in her bare feet, trying to scrape together a little money for food.” Then an idea struck me. “Cathy, let’s go home and get together some food for her.” It was already getting dark, so she probably wouldn’t be working that stoplight much longer. We raced home, found a couple of sturdy bags, and began going through our well-stocked pantry and refrigerator. Rice, beans, dried jalapeños, a jar of salsa, corn tortillas, a cooked chicken. It was easy to fill the bags from our abundance. A loaf of bread, jam, bacon. I tied the bags with large bows, and we headed off to find the old woman. At first we thought we had taken too long and missed her. Then we saw her trudging slowly down the street, her shawl wrapped tightly around her, probably on her way home. “Hello!” Cathy greeted her and continued in Spanish. “We saw you at the stoplight and brought you some food for Christmas dinner. We hope you and your family will feel God’s love this Christmas.” The old woman looked at us with wonderment, and tears welled up in her eyes. Then she took Cathy’s hands in hers and kissed them. “Thank you. Thank you. God bless you. You are beautiful. You are a Christmas angel.” She took the bags and continued down the street. Our own Christmas Eve was festive, as usual, and the next morning Cathy opened her gifts. When I asked her if she was having a good Christmas, she replied, “You know, Mommy, seeing that old woman so happy last night, and having her kiss my hands—that was the best Christmas present I received. I think giving is the best part of Christmas!” -- By Josie Clark Time was running out. It was December 24, Christmas Eve, and I still hadn’t found that magical feeling, the spirit of Christmas. I had done the things that I thought would bring it—attended my children’s school performance of Christmas carols, decorated our tree, baked, shopped, wrapped. Yet nothing seemed to spark the Christmas spirit within me. I had resigned myself to the fact that this just might not be a very good Christmas.
My husband, Steve, a firefighter, was on his routine 24-hour shift at the firehouse, which meant he would not be home for either Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. Our four children and I were eager to spend what time we could with him, so we all drove down to the station. As we arrived, the firefighters had just returned from a first-aid call to a nearby motel, where they had rendered care to a young boy with a fever and other symptoms. My husband expressed to us his feelings of concern and his desire to do something more for the boy and his brother and their mother. They had fled an abusive, alcoholic situation and were now hundreds of miles from home, with one change of clothes each, very little money, and now an ill child on Christmas Eve. Steve looked at me and at each of our children and asked, “What else can we do to help them? We picked up a small tree on the way back to the station that we want to decorate for them, but what more can we do this late?” It was 9:25 p.m. Our children began a clamor of ideas. My daughter was sure a toy store somewhere was still open. My oldest son, then fifteen years old, offered a prayer and asked Heavenly Father to guide us to a place where we would find the gifts we needed. This filled the children with hope that we could find a toy store still open. I didn’t share their hope, largely because even if we did find a store open, I didn’t know how we would pay for anything we found. I wanted to share, as much as my children did, but this Christmas was already our leanest ever. Our own children were receiving only two gifts each. Still, we drove eagerly around looking for anything open, planning to meet Steve and the other firefighters back at the motel room before the little family returned from the hospital, where they’d gone for medicine. Every store we saw was closed. Then one of my sons said, “Hey, I know somewhere that’s open.” “Yeah, and they’ve got presents already wrapped!” declared the other son. Wondering what they were talking about, I pulled the car to the side of the street, and in frustration I turned to the kids and asked, “Oh, yeah, just where is this great place?” Their answer was so enthusiastic and genuine that it instantly ignited within me the flame of the Christmas spirit. “We can go to our house,” they chimed together. “The presents are already wrapped and under the tree.” I asked them each if they really wanted to do this, and their eager response was, “Yes! Yes! Now hurry!” Once we were home, I watched with wonder as each pulled name tags off of their presents and each picked certain ornaments from our tree. At first, I was surprised to see that the ornaments they picked were the ones they themselves had made over the years. Then I realized that they were giving of themselves, and these had special value. Two of my boys came out of their bedroom with their baseball gloves, their “pride and joy” mitts. We loaded the presents, some tree lights, and candy and goodies that were our family’s stocking stuffers, and we were off to the motel. The manager let us into the austere little room, and we set right to work with the firefighters, who had also brought things. We set the tree on the tabletop and adorned it with lights and the ornaments. Some of the firefighters hung candy bars and twenty-dollar bills on it with paper clips. Presents were in place under the tree, canned goods stacked in the corner, and clothes for the mother and children folded neatly on the night stand. The room had been transformed. On each of the bed pillows lay a somewhat used baseball glove from our boys, and I saw my fifteen-year-old place between the mitts one of his most prized possessions. It was his home run baseball. I doubted that the little boys receiving this prize could possibly know what a sacrifice this was or what a revered spot it had held in my son’s room for the past six months. But that moment I knew that in my son’s heart, the spirit of Christmas flamed brightly, lighting that little room even after we turned off all the lights except the diamond-like ones on the tree. I had almost given up on finding that precious spirit of Christmas. But it was given to me by my dear husband who recognized a need when he saw it, my children who so eagerly responded, and my Savior, whose love for all mankind serves to remind me that I’ll never need to be without the Christmas spirit again. I realized as never before that the Christmas spirit comes to us as we give of ourselves to others. -- By Sandi Schureman My wife and I once saw a German stage production of A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. You likely know the story of a miserly banker who transforms into a kind and generous man through the mysterious workings of three ghosts who take him on a trip through his past, present, and future. I was struck by the impact the stage production had on me and the audience.
The story was born out of Dickens’ desire to make people aware of the terrible conditions of workers in England at that time. Having been brought up in poverty and having worked in a factory 12 hours a day as a child himself, he empathized with their plight and hoped this story would make a difference for the better in their lives. Dickens wrote the novella in six weeks, and it became an instant and enduring hit. Ruth Glancy, a professor of English literature, stated that the greatest impact of A Christmas Carol was how it inspired individual readers to help the needy. Thanks in part to this story, hosting Christmas dinners for the poor became a tradition. In 1867 one American businessman was so moved by attending a reading that he closed his factory on Christmas Day and sent every employee a turkey. In the early 1900s, the queen of Norway sent gifts to London’s crippled children signed “With Tiny Tim’s Love.” Author G. K. Chesterton wrote, “The beauty and blessing of the story ... lie in the great furnace of real happiness that glows through Scrooge and everything around him. ... Whether the Christmas visions would or would not convert Scrooge, they convert us.” I recently read about a Christmas transformation story that parallels the one in A Christmas Carol. It’s about a banker named George Mason, who locked himself by accident in his own bank vault on Christmas Eve. When he finally got out two days later, he realized that no one missed him. Fortunately, he had reflected on his life and decided to make positive changes. Inside his vault is a handwritten card that reads: “To love people, to be indispensable somewhere, that is the purpose of life. That is the secret of happiness.” We don’t have to be visited by ghosts or get locked inside a bank vault to realize the real meaning of Christmas. God loved the world so much that He sent Jesus, His only begotten Son, on that first Christmas, to redeem us from death and give us eternal life. Let’s share the love we have received with others this Christmas season. -- Curtis Peter van Gorder She looks into the face of the baby. Her son. Her Lord. His Majesty. At this point in history, the human being who best understands who God is and what He is doing is a teenage girl in a smelly stable. She can’t take her eyes off Him.
Somehow Mary knows she is holding God. So this is he. She remembers the words of the angel. “His kingdom will never end.” He looks like anything but a king. His face is prunish and red. His cry, though strong and healthy, is still the helpless and piercing cry of a baby. And He is absolutely dependent upon Mary for his well-being. Majesty in the midst of the mundane. Holiness in the filth of sheep manure and sweat. God entering the world on the floor of a stable, through the womb of a teenager, and in the presence of a carpenter. A birth that couldn’t be more humble. A birth that changed the world—including mine and yours. Can we ever thank Him enough? An ordinary night with ordinary sheep and ordinary shepherds. You might have called it boring. If not for a God who loves to hook an “extra” on the front of the ordinary, the night would have gone unnoticed. The sheep would have been forgotten, and the shepherds would have slept the night away. But God dances amid the common. And that night he showed some of His best moves. The black sky exploded with brightness. Trees that had been shadows jumped into clarity. Sheep that had been silent became a chorus of curiosity. One minute the shepherd was dead asleep, the next he was rubbing his eyes and staring into the face of an alien. The night was ordinary no more. The angel came in the night because that is when lights are best seen and that is when they are most needed. God comes into the common for the same reason. His most powerful tools are the simplest. Are we still stunned by God’s coming? Still staggered by the event? Does Christmas still spawn the same speechless wonder it did two thousand years ago?— Max Lucado, God Came Near (Doubleday Religious Publishing Group, 1993). |
AuthorThe goal of the blog is to provide interesting, motivational, soul feeding material. All to help remind us that God loves us all and wants a personal relationship with each of us and will take care of us in times of trouble. I aspire to be a force for good by providing you with positive input. I encourage you to share the blog with others. Archives
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