Grace and Peace

It is Christmas Eve and soon families and friends will be gathering to laugh, eat, and exchange gifts.  That is a very pleasant part of the holiday season.  But, let's not forget to worship when we gather.  Remember the greatness of God's gift this Christmas and follow Jesus boldly into a new year.

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!"  (Galatians 4:4-6 ESV)

At Christmas, it is easy to be distracted by all the treats, traditions, and trappings of the season.  If we aren't careful, Christmas can become a nostalgic, family focused holiday that has little to do with God.  Henri Nouwen, a Dutch Catholic priest and writer, helps put the holiday and its many activities in proper perspective for us:

"I realized that songs, good feelings, beautiful liturgies, nice presents, big dinners, and many sweet words do not make Christmas. Christmas is saying ‘yes’ to something beyond all emotions and feelings. Christmas is saying ‘yes’ to a hope based on God’s initiative, which has nothing to do with what I think or feel. Christmas is believing that salvation is God’s work, and not mine."

Here is a great quote from Max Lucado's book, God Came Near:

They were too busy. The day was upon them. The day’s bread had to be made. The morning’s chores had to be done. There was too much to do to imagine that the impossible had occurred. God had entered the world as a baby. Yet, were someone to chance upon the sheep stable on the outskirts of Bethlehem that morning, what a peculiar scene they would behold. The stable stinks like all stables do. The stench of urine, dung, and sheep reeks pungently in the air. The ground is hard, the hay scarce. Cobwebs cling to the ceiling and a mouse scurries across the dirt floor. A more lowly place of birth could not exist.

Meanwhile, the city hums. The merchants are unaware that God has visited their planet. The innkeeper would never believe that he had just sent God into the cold. And the people would scoff at anyone who told them the Messiah lay in the arms of a teenager on the outskirts of their village. They were all too busy to consider the possibility. Those who missed His Majesty’s arrival that night missed it not because of evil acts or malice; no, they missed it because they simply weren’t looking. Little has changed in the last two thousand years, has it?

David Meece wrote the song, We are the Reason, in 1980.  Avalon recorded their version of it 20 years later on their Christmas album in 2000.  In the video below, you hear the power of David Meece's song sung by Avalon and accompanied by footage from the movie, The Passion of the Christ.  Watch the video which was put together by a Malaysian believer, Chow Yee, and think about the greatest gift of all.

Former President Ronald Reagan had an aunt who took him to the local cobbler for a new pair of  shoes. The cobbler asked young Reagan, “Do you want square toes or round toes?” Unable to decide, Reagan didn’t answer, so the cobbler gave him a few days. Several days later the cobbler saw Reagan on the street and asked him again what kind of toes he wanted on his shoes. Reagan still couldn’t decide, so the shoemaker replied, “Well, come by in a couple of days and your shoes will be ready.”

When the future president came by the cobbler's shop three days later, he found one square-toed and one round-toed shoe. “This will teach you to never let people make decisions for you,” the cobbler said to his indecisive customer.

“I learned right then and there,” Reagan said later, “if you don’t make your own decisions, someone else will.”

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.  For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.  (James 1:5-8 ESV)

Isn’t it fun to watch the excitement grow on the faces of  children as Christmas Day approaches?  I just came from attending our Week-day Preschool Christmas Program which was filled with happy children, their parents, and grandparents.  The enthusiastic songs of the children and the smiles of parents and grandparents, behind their cameras, was an occasion of joy for me. 

Children are excited about the imminent arrival of "the man in the red suit" and the gifts he will bring. Adults are anticipating the joy of their children as they open those gifts.  With each passing day, the grins on our faces grow and the glad expectation of our hearts rise as we approach December 25th.  Christmas is the happiest time of the year!

But as exciting as the approaching holiday might be, we should be even more excited as we anticipate the coming of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus.  God used the Apostle Paul to write about that day: 

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.  Therefore encourage one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 ESV)

We don't have a date circled on the calendar.  We do not know when He will come, but we do know that He will come.  He has promised.

I don't think anyone would be surprised by my admission that I love pets.  Across my 52 years I have enjoyed the company of dogs, cats, rabbits, turtles, and birds.  Of late, I have said, "Goodbye" to one of my most beloved pets, Jake, who was with me for over 16 years.  Fortunately, my sadness over Jake's demise is tempered by the ongoing joy that I derive from playing with Terrance, the killer Chinese-crested dog, and Gabby, the crabby spotted-tabby cat.

Neither is anyone surprised to find out that I am a sports fan.  I love to play and watch sports.  In particular, I love football.  August is a blessed month because football begins.  I always mourn as January turns to February because football season has ended.  Fortunately, I have college basketball to cheer me and even as March Madness comes to an end it gives way to baseball which is pretty cool, too.

I say all that to say, I just don't understand all the hatred that is being expressed towards Michael Vick.  As I rode back from Cary yesterday, I listened to talk radio and couldn't believe the venom that was aimed at the man.  People were expressing their anger in crazy ways.  Many wished that he could serve a much longer term than the 23 months he was given because of his federal dog fighting violation.  Others were hoping that he would never be able to return to the NFL and earn money playing football.  Some were joyful that his life was ruined and hoped that he would never recover.

Let me say, I think animal cruelty is reprehensible.  I also think that it is right that Michael Vick pay for his crime.  BUT PEOPLE...COME ON!  Why would you wish for someones life to be ruined with no chance for redemption?

I will admit that in some dark moments of my own life, I have wished others ill.  But I have learned a deeper appreciation for God's grace and consciously and intentionally strive to deal with others from a position of grace.  God has forgiven this old boy a whole load of sin, therefore who am I not to forgive others.

I, for one, wish Michael Vick well.  I pray that during his prison term he doesn't become bitter, but grows as a man and aspires to live a better life.  I pray that somehow he will come face to face with the love of God in Jesus Christ and will be "born again."  I hope he comes out of prison and returns to pro football with a transformed heart and life.  I hope he returns to become one of the biggest stars of the NFL and shines as a trophy of God's grace.

Is there someone in your life to whom you need to extend forgiveness and grace?  Or are you the one in need of grace and redemption?  Jesus is just what you need.

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32 (ESV)