Friends in Christ,
Can you imagine
Joseph, Mary's willing husband, hunched over a monitor telling Mary
when she's about to have a contraction? Can you imagine Mary trying
to decide whether to let the nurses take the Son of God into the
nursery at night so she can get some sleep? Can you imagine the look
on Jesus' face when they slip the anti-theft device on his ankle?
It's hard for us
to imagine what that scene in the stable was like so many years ago.
We speculate on the surroundings and who was there, but the reality
is that we simply don't know. We have the Gospel accounts, but
anyone who claims to know for certain more than that has seen better
scholarship than I have.
The actual event
happened years ago, but the cosmic ramifications still reverberate in
our hearts and lives today. Almighty God taking on human flesh and
dwelling in our midst matters more than we can begin to understand.
Not only do we have consolation in knowing that God understands what
it feels like to be human, but also we can have hope for the future
because of the sinless life and perfect sacrifice that Jesus Christ
offered.
Christmas changed
everything, and each Christmas is a chance for us to remember the
perfect gift that we have been given. Each Christmas is a chance for
us to look forward in hope, to peer boldly beyond the horizon of
today, through the veil of death and into the realm of the eternal,
where God sits upon his throne and beckons us closer. Each Christmas
is a chance to look around at the present, to celebrate our blessings
and examine our shortcomings, working to make our lives a pleasing
offering to God.
As we celebrate
Christmas, may we celebrate the strength and wisdom of God that came
down to earth in the form of a child, and may we give thanks that God
is a God of redemption, peace, hope, joy and love.
In Christ,
Keith
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