How can I keep from singing?
Each week as we light another Advent candle, Elayne and Titus get more excited! Titus guesses that every candle is to remember the ‘Prophets’, and Elayne remembers the second candle as the “Oh Little Town of Bethlehem” one… while remaining absolutely convinced that there is a Wise Men candle out there somewhere! Yet even without remembering every detail perfectly, it has been exciting to watch them grow in anticipation of Christmas morning, when at last the Christ candle can be lit to commemorate Jesus’ birth!
This past week, we lit the Shepherds’ candle and looked at these unlikely members of the Nativity story. If God used prophets to foretell His Son’s arrival, prepared Bethlehem (including filling each inn to capacity), and sent His mighty angelic multitude to proclaim Christ’s coming… why on earth would He bring smelly sheep-herders onto the stage He was setting?!
In order to answer that question, we looked at the response of these shepherds to the news they received. And simply put… that response was stunning! After going and seeing for themselves, they ran through Bethlehem and displaying great haste and urgency, told everyone! This simple yet profound response wells up from their great joy, and overflows into the lives of everyone around them.
What an amazing example for us today! If we have the awesome privilege of being God’s messengers today – and we do! – this is exactly how we ought to respond! Can we really wonder anymore why God brought these lowly shepherds into place for His Son’s arrival on earth? In them, God has given us a picture of what it looks like to rejoice in Christ’s coming. How can we possibly keep from responding likewise… telling everyone we can find, and doing so in haste?
Well, our final week of work before heading to Seattle for Christmas is now done. Much went similarly to the week before… we continued updating our partnership records from the past two years, continued preparing for a couple Christmastime meetings in Seattle, and continued taking opportunities to serve friends who possess troublesome computers! Some significant work went into our upcoming New Year’s newsletter, and we were blessed to have another family join our partnership team. (Praise God – up to 58%!) We’re grateful for God’s gift of a fruitful week, and are excited to celebrate His Incarnation with family and loved ones in the days to come.
God bless each of you! Merry Christmas, and may each of us keep close to mind just why it is that Jesus’ birth matters so much to us. Without the Cross, His birth would offer us no hope for reconciliation with God. Yet, praise God! Bethlehem did lead to Calvary, and through Jesus God has offered Himself to all men.