Advent Day Twenty-One

It was our first Christmas as pastors of one of those “opportunities” church leaders like to offer to pastors for their first pastorate.  We were newly-weds of only nine months.  Our church was pretty small, and the district church was subsidizing our salary.  I think the total was about $100 a week!  Things looked bleak. We were pretty sure that Christmas was going to be a bit sparse, other than the little celebration in our church.  Gift-giving was in question. 

To supplement our salary, I was working, part-time at the local radio station.  It was a cold, grey, early December day and I was calling on one of our radio customers.  Most rural west Texas towns were fairly small, and the town of Robert Lee was definitely characteristic.  However, the town did have a bank that faithfully advertised with our station.  

I had visited with the bank president over the few months we had been in the area.  He and I struck it off, pretty well, as we had identified that we were both Christians.  It was always a joy to visit him.  This particular day, I was not in the best of spirits.  He must have read the disappointment and tiredness in my face as we began to talk about the holidays.  At some point in the conversation, he asked me to step into his office.  With a big smile on his face, he handed me a small box and said “Merry Christmas”.

I waited until I got home to open the little box with Georgia.  Though small, the box seemed a bit heavy.  We opened the box together.  Inside was a beautiful set of silverware.  There was serving for eight.  We gasped in unison.  One of the many things we needed was a set of silverware. It was exactly what we needed at the time.  How did he know? That is still a mystery, but I happen to believe that where two or three are together in God’s name, He is there to provide. It was a simple gift, but it brought immeasurable joy to a young couple starting out in life and ministry.

That’s really what it’s all about, isn’t it.  It’s not about the size of the gift it’s about our reaction to the gift that has its own reward.  It’s about knowing that someone cares enough to do something unanticipated, something extra.  It is in that knowing that joy springs forth.  

There is Someone who cares enough about us, who recognizes us in our need.  One day in history, He supplied something incredible: something unanticipated by many. He knew what we needed the most and He gave a precious gift that met the needs of hearts in a chaotic world.  The result was joy, real joy!

Philippians 4:4,6-7 NIV reads like this:

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice…Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

It was Mary, the mother of Jesus, who said, in response to the announcement that God would send His Son through her: 

Luke 1:46-47

“My soul praises the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant.”

No matter how beaten down, how frustrated, how downtrodden and distraught we may become, there is reason for joy.  For, just at the right time, for just the right people, God sent the most precious gift of all.  The gift was expected by some; yet many never realized the significance of this gift.  

For those who were looking forward to a way out of the pain and suffering, for those who wanted a better life, for those who truly believed in God’s care and provision; to them was given the greatest gift of all-the gift of God’s Son, our Redeemer and Lord.  Because of this giving, in the being noticed by our Creator, in sensing a love like no other, from one: 

1 Peter 1:8 KJV

Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory

The gift of Christ was God’s greatest gift.  Knowing that God cared enough to send His very best causes in us a sense of a joy beyond all measure.  My prayer is that you would discover this eternal, joyous relationship for yourself.  Know that God sent Christ just for you and experience the joy of forgiveness and new life in Him.

Father, thank You so much for sending your Son to show us a better way of living.  We can get so bogged down in the weariness of the world that we forget there is more to living than just the daily conflict and confusion.  For those who already know you, we pray that you would restore in us the joy of your salvation.  For those who don’t know You, help them, this day, to seek a relationship to You that frees them from the sin and death of their past such that they, too, can experience the joy of your forgiveness and new life. We thank you for loving us more than we love ourselves.  In Jesus name. Amen.