The unopened Christmas gift

Luke 2:10 “Then the angels said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men!”Our Christmas joy has been eclipsed this year by an act of barbarism so large that it staggers the mind.  The senseless nature of it causes us to lift our eyes to heaven and cry out with those who weep.  The unopened Christmas gifts under the tree, the shattered dreams, the broken hearts, the laughter stilled by an assassin’s bullet.

We mourn this year, not only for the lost lives and broken hearts; everyone of us only imagining the weight of grief born by the parents, but we also grieve for what we have become- a nation adrift without God, unloosed from its moorings, awash in a sea of sin.

Were it battlefield deaths of enlisted soldiers, sent to a far field of battle to defend our homes, we would still grieve, but at least we could understand it.  But when it was these innocents, these lives barely begun, we are forced to cry out:  Why?  If Christ came to bring peace on earth, then why do we experience such pain?  If the angels announced joyful news, then why so much sorrow and sadness?

The answer should be evident:  “Be not deceived, God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that will he also reap.  The one who sows to the flesh will of the flesh reap destruction.”

When a nation seeks to remove every footprint of their Creator and Sustainer from their lives, why should we be surprised that God would turn us over to the lusts of our own hearts?  When every day, Innocent babies are brutally murdered in sterile surroundings, why are we surprised that the offspring of that culture would be sadistic and show disdain for life?  When we feed on violent movies and games that glamorize murder and mayhem and we read books that bring fantasy of such deeds to our minds, why are we surprised when some one acts on those devices?

And as a result, the social engineers will cry for more sensitivity training and better self esteem.  The Pharmaceutical companies will try to make better anti-psychotic drugs.  The Politicians will call for more gun control.  And God in Heaven will grieve and say:  “My people have committed two evils- they have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters, and they have hewn out for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns which can hold no water.  Know therefore and see that it is a bitter thing that you have forsaken the Lord your God.”

Our world is clamoring for joy and peace, but are we looking in all the wrong places?  Rather than submitting to the Prince of Peace are we content to wander in darkness?  How about you?  “Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1

Tim

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