Good morning…
Our morning messages catch seeds of thought dropped in the wee early hours. So many times the small seeds grow roots and sprout in an expansive way throughout the day. Often, God draws me back into our morning message, editing it, developing it, making it more. That is exactly what happened with yesterday’s post. The Holy Spirit nudged me to make small changes in wording throughout the post before opening up the final paragraph in a new, vibrant way. Here is the fresh finale to yesterday’s post.
“From a vulnerable baby born in a manger, we are told Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people (Luke 2:52, NLT). After living a full lifetime, like you and like me, what is Jesus’ final parting gift to us as he dies, resurrects, and returns to heaven from earth? His gift is his promise: “I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b, AMP). The gift of Christ’s perpetual presence is a great gift for us to continue unwrapping, in all circumstances, on every occasion, everyday of our earthly lives.”
It strikes me now: yesterday’s post seems incomplete, as we identified only two of the great gifts God gives us at Christmas.
- Jesus Christ, our source of wholeness, is born to save us from spiraling down, to save us from separating ourselves from God, to save us from the suffocating sin of self-sufficiency.
- Immanuel is born on Christmas morn to help us remember: “God is with us.” Here. Now. God is with us. God is always with us.
God’s third Christmas gift is now unwrapped in me on this wet, chilly morning.
3. In many creative ways, God could have bridged the separation between earth and heaven, between His heart and His people, between our anxious Martha “false” self and our peaceful Mary “true” self. Incredibly, God took all of His power, all of His glory, all of His creativity and chose to wrap Himself in the powerless skin of a vulnerable baby, naming him Jesus, naming him Immanuel.
Why does God’s third Christmas gift matter so much? Because Jesus’ life story becomes the seed of our own life story.
As a vulnerable baby we too are born. Maturing like Christ, day after day, we also grow “in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people.” Then, after living a full lifetime, we die, we resurrect, and we return to heaven from earth. Our single task each moment of each day is to remember God’s gift, to access the peaceful power of Jesus Christ’s promise: “I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b, AMP). The gift of Christ’s perpetual presence is a great gift for us to continue unwrapping, in all circumstances, on every occasion, everyday of our earthly lives.
I assure you and most solemnly say to you, anyone who believes in Me [as Savior] will also do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these [in extent and outreach], because I am going to the Father (John 14:12, AMP). Amen. Let it be so. May the growing gift of God’s peaceful power expand within our skin.
…Sue…
