Be a Child That Will Receive
“So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.” Luke 2:16
Have you ever noticed at a gathering of any kind when the songs of Christmas are being sung, that when you come to “White Christmas” there is a kind of hush, with people getting that faraway look in their eyes. In memory they seem to be going back to former days. There is something about Christmas that makes all of us want to be home with our families. One survey reported this is the time of year people most want to be home, that it beats birthdays 3 to 1 and the 4th of July by 5 to 1.
There is a story about how a young man from a good home rebelled against the values and ideals his mother and father tried to instill in him. He ran with the wrong crowd. He got into minor scrapes with the law. He seemed to delight in trampling on the feelings of those who loved him most. One evening his father was coming in from a late night business meeting and he walked by the boy’s bedroom. His son was stretched out on the bed sound asleep. Seated on the bed beside him was the boy’s mother. Her husband watched quietly as his wife gently brushed back the hair on her son’s forehead and softly kissed him. With tears in her eyes she turned to her husband and whispered, “You know, he won’t let me love him when he’s awake.”
The sad loneliness of that mother must be something like the loneliness of God. God wants to love each of us but we resist. God wants to bless our lives, but we are reluctant to receive those blessings. How frustrating it must be for any parent who has so much that he or she wants to give, to have a child who will not receive.
Jesus speaks of our Father’s desire to give good things to His children. “Which of you would give your son a serpent,” he asked, “when he asks for a fish? Or who would give him a scorpion when he asks for an egg. If you who are evil know how to give good things to your children, how much more, then, will your Father which is in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.”
Many people stay away from Christ because they have the idea that he will subtract from their lives. “Think how much I would have to give up if I follow Jesus,” they say. “Think of how much it will cost me.”
Just the opposite is true, however. Christ seeks to add to our lives. There are some good things God wants to give us. All we have to do is ask. All we have to do is to be willing to receive. What are some of the things God wants to give us? What are some of the blessings he wants to pour out on us?
Why do we associate Christmas with being home? It has to do with tradition and the sense of belonging and happiness that we have experienced at Christmas. But more than this it has to do with a deeper sense of “home” that we feel. The spiritual dimensions of our lives are stirred. We feel more than at any other time, that deep sense of being with God. It was Augustine who wrote” Thou hast made us for thyself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in thee.”
Prayer: Lord, thank you for all you give us. Help us to recognize those blessings you pour down on us, especially our parents and our families. In Your name, Amen.
Rev. Tom Wheeler
Pastor
First Baptist Church
Fort Morgan, CO
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