A December Word from the Pastor
“For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son.....” John 3:16
I’ll never forget the first Christmas Gretchen and I were a couple. Earlier that year we had been walking through downtown Greenville when Gretchen stopped to admire an outfit displayed in the window of a very expensive clothing shop. She went on and on about how much she like it, so the next day I went into the shop to inquire about price. When the clerk told me $160, I gulped, and then asked about layaway. They did offer that, so I purchased the clothing and began to make weekly payments on it. By Christmas time the layaway was paid off and the outfit was wrapped. I could hardly wait to surprise Gretchen with the gift. When she opened the package on Christmas Eve, I don’t know who was happier, me or Gretchen! She loved the outfit and had it for a number of years before it finally wore out.
What made that gift so special was that Gretchen was thrilled to receive it. How sad it would have been if Gretchen had opened the gift and not wanted it, or in some other way rejected the outfit. It would have ruined my Christmas. Of course she loved the gift and we still talk about it once in a while.
Christmas time is when we remember and celebrate the greatest gift ever given-the gift of God’s own Son to us. He came, not wrapped in pretty paper, but wrapped in swaddling clothes. He was not placed under a tree but in a manger. The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us so He could live as we do, and then die for our sin. The Bible says that God was “pleased” to do this for us. (Isaiah 53:10). How sad it must be for God to see this incredible gift of Jesus be rejected or neglected by so many. This would be like Gretchen taking my gift and throwing it in the trash without ever opening it, or receiving my gift only to hang it in her closet, never to be worn.
God gave His best 2000 years ago. The gift is now in our hands. What will we do with Jesus? Receive Him? Live for Him? Put on the “new man” (Eph. 4:24) created to be like God? God gave His Son to the whole world, but only those who believe in Him get to experience the eternal life He offers. May you and I be ones who open this wonderous gift and put on Christ everyday of our lives!
Pastor Chris