Where are you going to be in 24 days?
Before I go any further, I just remembered a verbal interaction many years ago with a rather grumpy acquaintance. I greeted him one morning, and here is the conversation verbatim, except for his name:
"Good morning, George."
"What's so good about it?"
That reaction turned on my imagination, and I decided to help him think about life.
"If you didn't wake up this morning, where would you be?"
"I'd be dead."
"That's right. But you would be in either heaven or hell, so where would you be?"
There was a long pause ...... then he responded:
"Good morning."
Apparently, he thought about it very seriously in that long pause. Although he became a very good friend and supported me in my stand for Jesus, he never told me whether or not he became a believer in Jesus Christ. I hope to see him in heaven.
Back to the 24-day countdown.
So, where will you be on Christmas Day? I'm laughing right now because I know some folks who don't know where they'll be tomorrow, let alone a month from now.
As I write this, Carol and I are on the road heading for Denver, Colo., where we'll be with our daughter and her family for Thanksgiving, and we plan on being with them through the weekend. Then we'll continue west to visit other friends and family.
When I say friends and family, I hope you know that family should always be friends. If there's a breach in your relationship with any of your family members, be they parents, siblings, cousins or any others, ask the Lord to help you heal those hurts. I know it's not always possible, but as the Apostle Paul said in Romans 12:18, "If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all" (ESV). Go out of your way to heal the hurts. Ask the Lord for wisdom in how you do it. If it doesn't work, at least you tried.
And do that for those outside your family too. It's difficult to be a thankful person if we are hiding hurts, anger, bitterness in our hearts and minds. And it's difficult for others if we are the cause of those negative emotions and memories.
Christmas is a special time of year. Whether Jesus was born Dec. 25 or not isn't our topic this week. Whatever the date of Jesus' birth, it was one of the most important days in history. Even our calendars are based on that event. We can say BC, meaning Before Christ, or BCE, meaning Before the Common Era. It's the same thing. All of history is dated by Jesus' birth.
Having said that, I also like the Jewish dating of history. Their calendar starts from the year they believe God created the world. In the Roman calendar, we are in 2021, but in the Jewish calendar we are in 5782. Both systems are historically significant to us.
As I said, Christmas is important. Jesus' advent as a baby into the world of men started His 33-year countdown. Countdown to what?
Genesis 3:14-15 informs us that, even at the advent of sin, God had a plan to rescue us. Also, Revelation 13:8 informs us that Jesus' plan to rescue us from sin and hell, and from our own sinful humanity, was established before Adam thrust humanity into rebellion. Those scriptures, from the first and last books in the Bible, reveal the omniscience of God, therefore the importance of Jesus' birth.
Prior to Jesus' human birth, He was known as The Word. Read John 1:1-3 and verse 14. But when the Word became flesh, He took on the name – and victorious title – of JESUS. When He was born, his earthly countdown began, and He fulfilled His task on the cross 33 years later.
His resurrection verified that He was, and is, God, and Jesus' gift to anyone who will accept it is forgiveness and eternal life with Him in heaven.
As we celebrate His birth, we also give gifts -- generally material gifts. But we can, and should, give a gift that lasts forever. Let's give the gift of love. This gift will help heal the hurts we endure throughout the year.
Jesus loves you (John 3:13), so throughout this 24-day countdown, let's love one another. Don't make this just a merry Christmas, but a blessed and a joyous time of honoring our Savior, Jesus Christ.
-- S. Eugene Linzey is an author, mentor and speaker. Send comments and questions to [email protected]. Visit his web site at www.genelinzey.com. The opinions expressed are those of the author.