“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”
– Isaiah 9:6-7
This is not a typo—W-I-D-E … not W-H-I-T-E… as I grew up in Ohio and remember the snow! Yet.. another Christmas looms in front of us. What will it be like? Better than all the rest? Second place? Not really wanting even to stop and smell the wassail? Just for the record, Christmas always comes all by itself… without our coaxing and without our permission. And with good cause and that is why I’m looking forward to a W-I-D-E Christmas! Why? Because that’s what Christmas is all about…
W-onder… there’s your start… “Wonder” in the goodness of God and how when given the creation a real open and free will… we always choose ourselves over God. WONDER why things in life get all messed up? We don’t have to wonder long. We can’t blame God for the mess… only that he gave us the power to live in peace… The real wonder comes when we realize that God will not allow us to be consumed by our own selfishness and in a self-less act comes to us (Emmanuel = God with us!) in Jesus… the wonder of the years… whose life, death, resurrection and ascension provides us with a model of the godly life… for each and every day…
I-nvasion… which sums up the reality that Christmas is not just for Christians… Christ mass… Jesus coming into the world wasn’t designed for a handful of people… God sent his only son into the world…. Out of love… to save the world… and word in the Bible for ‘world’ is the Greek term… “KOS-MOS” … or as we would write it… ‘cosmos!’ So, the second reason that Christmas is a W-I-D-E deal is that Jesus is for everyone… not just Christians like us… and just in case you are a bit uncomfortable with the term… “invasion”… replace it carefully with the word… ‘INSURGENCE’ …
D-elivering… when I have conversations with others about Jesus and Christmas… words of delivering packages from a big elf in a red suit is not where the conversation goes! When I have those conversations, I try to get to the bottom line… as in if you are going to believe in a God or a higher power or some kind of energy beyond the stars and certainly bigger than any one of us or all of us combined… I point out that you will want to place all your faith and trust in a God who can deliver the goods… as in save me and everyone else from sin, death and the power of evil… Jesus does that. I’ve searched like a wise man to find someone better. Jesus delivers and I won’t look any farther anymore…
E-veryhere… I don’t need to look very far to see and experience Christmas! I get the wonder each day and am awed by God’s power and presence in my life and in so many others… God’s work is eternal… God’s grace prevails… it is all around us and in us… Faith matters!
Martin Luther once said, “The Bible is the manger in which the Christ lays!” Get it? There’s a W-I-D-E Christmas for all of us… just open your Bible and you will find the gift that never breaks and will last you all your life!
