The Gift

Luke 2:10 -11  10 And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

 

 

The gift, the miracle, the undeserved answer to our prayers. The Christmas season is here, and 5 days from now we will join in unison to give thanks for the gift of life that was given to us by God. I have to share with you…..it happened today…..it happens every year, and I never know when it will show up…….but this morning there it was. Today I find myself filled with the Christmas spirit. I feel the overwhelming undeniable feeling of joy, and the need to tell people in my life how thankful I am for God, For His Son, and for having them in my life. It is truly a season of JOY!

 

Each and every year I promise myself that I am going to hang on to this feeling. I am determined to be this thankful, this joyful, this over the top happy to be alive, and have the chance to reach out to everyone I come across……I think I made it to about the end of February last year…….yeah, pretty dismal I know, but next year I know I will be making a run for it again! It does beg the question, how long do we stay grateful for the gift. Oh I know, don’t get me wrong here, I know most people are thankful throughout the year, but being thankful, and being full of joyful thanks, is not the same thing is it?

 

Let’s say you wanted a Porsche, fully loaded, free and clear, yours, tax title and licenses, you want it, you dream about it….and one day you open your door, and there it is! You are excited, you are joyful, you think you are the luckiest person on the face of the planet. Matter of fact the first month you have it you run in and pull people out of stores, movies, and work, just to come look at it, next month you are still pretty excited, matter of fact the first several months you remain on cloud nine…..then it happens, you jump in one day, crank the engine over, and it is just a Porsche. When people ask what you drive, you get a little gleam in your eye, you are thankful, but you simply respond, Porsche. We humans are bad about this, we get used to having something, and we go from appreciation, to more of an expectation mindset.

 

Christ (and I don’t have to tell you this) is not a Porsche. There is not one thing on this earth that can compare to the magnificence of the Lord, there is nothing that comes close to His power, His glory, or His presence, yet somehow, someway, in the middle of life, with all the hustle, and bustle, all of the trials and tribulations that come with just living this crazy life, it happens. Oh we don’t like to talk about it, we don’t like to admit it, we don’t like to say it out loud, and like it less when someone else does, but Christ becomes that Porsche. We are thankful, we know we should….but. We really want to…..but. We have the time….but……well we just are not as happy, or as joyful, or as thankful as that first day our Savior entered our lives!

 

That is what is so great about this Season. It is a chance to rekindle that fire into a blaze! It is an opportunity for us to recognize just how awesome of a gift that we have been given, and we get that gift not once a year, or once in a lifetime, but that gift walks with us each and every day. I am extending a challenge to each person that reads this. For at least the next five days, commit to be joyfully thankful. Write a letter, or an e-mail to someone who deserves thanks, but most likely does not get it. Tell the people you come in contact with just how great it is to have them in your life. Share the good news with those who have not heard it, and revel in the happiness with those who have. Make the next five days a reason for those who know you to take pause. Let them see what joyful thankfulness looks like. Then five days from now, see if you can make it another five, try to carry it into the new year. Write letters, make phone calls, drag people out of the stores, movies, and work, shake hands, pat backs. Let the world know to “fear not, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people”

 

Merry Christmas to all, and may God bless each of you this Christmas Season!

 

 

 

 

God Bless,

 

Brian Thetford

 

The Ridge Fellowship

 

Psalm22

 

The Workweek With Christ