Christ Coming: A 364-Day Event, or One?

“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them…For a child will be born to us a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:1/6).

God’s Christmas Promise to His children, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are live and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lod in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.  Comfort one another with these words” (1 Thess. 5:16-18).

Hey Gang, I found another book on my desk this morning with a note, ‘Read this!’  A marker was in the book The Wonders of Christmas by Daniel Partner.  I found this to be Day 9 of this Devotional Book.

As a little squeezer, one of the pure joys of the Christmas Season was seeing the decorations on the houses and special displays of Jesus’ birth at the churches in the neighborhood.  Our church always made a very big deal about the Nativity. In the months prior to Christmas Eve were the many rehearsals of choir and players in preparation for that very special night when with joy in their heart, the world was set aside and all turned to the coming of our Lord.

But there was a sadness attached to those wonderful memories. The days after the church had been filled with song, beautiful lighting a special joy that filled the air soon was back to the drabness and repetition that so many church services had become.  I believe that feeling was expressed by one of the little guys that we had with us at Christmas time when he said, “Mr. H.  Why don’t we celebrate Christmas 364 days out of the year and be grumpy only one day?”

 Not a bad question.  I think that is why this little story made such an impression on us, for it is a constant reminder that Jesus came into this world in human flesh and is going to return soon, collect His Bride for the Marriage Feast of the Lamb;  we will be with Him forever and ever more. 

While driving on U.S. Route 3 through New Hampshire’s northern most town in the state - Pittsburg.  There, in someone’s yard is a small shed of weathered wood with an open front covered with chicken wire.  Its year-round occupants are plastic figures on a man and a woman who are kneeling by a manger.

These three-quarter-sized figures make up a Christmas nativity scene.  Year-round, hunters and fishers, loggers and truckers, natives and tourist pass by this display.  It is most visible on long summer days, when no colored lights surround the shed.  The bright sun and green grass make it an eye-catching reminder of the birth of Jesus Christ. 

Theologians call Christ’s birth the Incarnation.  The Gospel of John describes it like this!  “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt within us” (John `1:14).

The famous poet, Ben Johnson (1572-1637), wrote in “A Hymn of h Nativity of My Savior”;  I sing the birth, was born tonight, The author both of life and light.

Our children sing, “Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,” and a citizen of Pittsburgh, New Hampshire, uses old planks, colored plastic, and chicken wire to tell of the birth of a child who was God. But from the simplest to the most sublime, nothing we can do or say or sing can adequately represent this event.  

The Creator became a creature!  Crude chicken wire and well-crafted phrases are equally impotent to explain this.  The Living God lives a human life!  Use plastic, use poetry-try as you might, nothing will do to completely describe it.  Combine the voices of apostles, pose, theologians, and every choir of children on earth to sing the significance of the God-man.  Yet, silence works just about as well.

Construct a cathedral, cobble together a crèche, or create a holiday called Christmas – whatever you do, remember each day the wonder of Christ’s birth and pray, “Dear heavenly Father, thank you for sending your Son into this world.”

Do you have something that reminds you daily that God so loved you? that He came, He died, over- came death that all who seek Him until they find Him will have eternal life with Him?

So, my friends, come on ring those bells!

Christmas: "The Potter entered into the clay He himself had made & now rests in the arms of his creation."  Christ in the Carols by Christopher and Melodie Lane

Blessings,

Gramps