Why are you looking so miserable? It’s not like you didn’t just open your presents,” Mom said…. Christmas morning 1978 and I’m having a meltdown about gifts…..
Forward Friday ends our Christmas memories walk with the Greatest Gift Ever Given… We have all, at one point or another received a gift of some sort. Some big, some small, some measure of significance but this Christmas, we take a moment to reflect on the greatest gift of all, the birth of Jesus Christ because the season is all about this miraculous entry on to the pages of time. And as usual, there is always Good News Medicine! Merry Christmas!!!
Let’s Get Into This!!
So, mom and I are sitting on the edge of my bed and I’m complaining about the fact that besides the proverbial socks, underwear, I only had one more present which was a gorgeous leather briefcase, but it was quantity that I was hung up on and not the quality.
That is, until Mom started to explain about why she and dad pooled their resources to buy me the briefcase.
“Your father and I decided that you will be in post-secondary school for a number of years, and you need something that will stand the test of durability and look good doing it.”
Of course, the more she spoke, the smaller I felt and started to think how they really thought of me to the point of choosing something that would give me long use and value.
That day was the day that I decided that I would be grateful for even a card but more importantly, that briefcase always reminds me of how my parents valued us so much that they were thinking of the best for us.
It’s funny now but mom said to me, “You’re never like this; what’s up?" "Do you have a headache?” Thankfully, she had grace for me… (And didn’t tell dad either which was a good thing) Just had a brain cramp for a minute.
That briefcase was used, fixed so many times before it finally decided to give up for good but many years later, I am so thankful that my parents thought of me like they did. For both of us for that matter always but that briefcase was special….
There have been many great gifts that I’ve received over the years; A Trip, Meeting Kelly but the greatest gift for me was my Christmas gift from God to me…..
And really, Christmas is the great story of the best Gift that God could give his creation...
So…For Some Good News Christmas Medicine……...
This great gift comes with Stability……..
Think about it….
Christmas Can Be Tough For Many.
Isn’t it interesting how sullen, agitated, frustrated, downright angry people are in the malls and stores at times?
I mean, sometimes I want to say to some people to give me their gifts because I’ll take it gladly as their face and attitude says how much they are off!!
Sometimes, it’s the instability because we or other loved ones are facing sickness or there has been a recent loss of family or friends and we just feel like we are off…unstable…. can’t quantify it.. instability can throw us off.
Some Thoughts About The Greatest Gift: Stability of the Stable.
One thing the manger reveals to us—Jesus is inclusive. Everyone can approach a manger. Everyone can approach Jesus. Everyone.
The only people who can’t come—those who are excluded—are the ones who think they don’t need the greatest gift courtesy of the stable, too above the need of the help that comes from the stable, or too proud to bow their knee.
These types of people have trouble with Jesus. Sometimes, I’ve been that guy. In fact, too many times…
But…….Here Is Some Good News Medicine..
Jesus says come, no matter our past, no matter our wallet size, no matter our persuasion about anything.
Simply come. The stable is stable because we don’t have the power to change us from the inside out, but Jesus came to do all of that and so much more.
We can’t earn His love, we can’t work for His love, and it is not just up to us to get it right because He is the only one who is Right.
Genuine freedom and stability begins when I stop trying so hard and lean desperately into His limitless grace… and face the stable.
So, mistake ridden, missing of the mark man that I am—yet, being transformed, shifted, adjusted, rearranged, and given life by His power—I come to the manger.
I come to bow at the animals’ rugged food trough that has now turned into His throne of blazing, sovereign glory.
My head spins with the thought that I can come with humble praise. All because at the manger, He included me.
Where I looked at my life in the past and realized how unstable I’ve been, my stabilizer has been the King who came, born in a stable to give me stability for a lifetime!
What a trade!! It was said long ago that Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul.
But what do we do when we feel that we have little or no strength to stand?
The Stable brings stability because of who came to the manger.
Like the face on the front of a dollar bill, the name brings value, and it means everything, and, in this case, The Stability of the stable is Jesus!
Make it a Christmas to remember because when we receive and accept the greatest gift, we’ve gained stability because of who was in the Stable!!
Merry Christmas and the very best to you now and in the New Year to come!!!
Dave
#ForwardFriday #ChristmasMemoriesWeekendPt#3 #TheGreatestGift #ChristmasWeekend #Stability #Speaker #Blog #Hope #Strength #Briefcase #Progress2023
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