WANTED: GRACE GIVERS

As the apostle Peter was saying his goodbyes to the Elders of the church at Ephesus he spoke of how he "did not shrink from disclosing to [them] the whole purpose of God" (Acts 20:27).  Truth is, he had poured out his heart for God and had done all he knew to do to lift up Christ. 

     

At the conclusion of his farewell address he told them something he said Jesus had said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35).  It was a truth to which Paul had committed himself and by which he had conducted his life as a missionary for God.

     

Giving is a way of being in the world.  It is the way of Jesus, the One who came not to be served but to serve (Matthew 20:28).  It is the way of being the Church in a world steeped in selfishness and materialism.  We are never more like God than when we give. 

     

Jesus said, "Freely you received; freely give" (Matthew 10:8).  He also said, "For God so loved the world that He gave…" (John 3:16).  He gave the ultimate offering; Jesus, God's response to the deepest need of the human heart."

     

Anne Frank wrote, "No one has ever become poor by giving." I think she was right.  Let's be known for our lives of giving, lives patterned after Jesus.

GOD HAS COME TO US

"The people who walk in darkness will see a great light" (Is. 9:2), so said the prophet. One might think he was speaking to twenty-first century USA when he proclaimed these words.  Actually he addressed them to a culture that existed seven hundred years before Christ.  It's just that even though the calendar is always moving forward, the human heart has stayed pretty much the same.

           

The preacher was right when he said, "There is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9).  Darkness is still darkness whether it is surrounding ancient Israel or modern America.  People refuse God now as they refused Him then, and brokenness of the human heart is the one consistency that seems never to change with time.

           

There is no way adequately to express the joy of knowing that a great light has come to penetrate the darkness and to bring hope and healing and comfort into the human story.  God has come to us in Jesus, bringing to us love, acceptance, forgiveness, understanding, and peace.  Those who personally know Jesus will affirm this great promise.  It is available to everybody, though.

           

In the darkness there is a light, the very light of God.  Jesus.  Immanuel.  God with us.  "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men" (John 1:4).  "Wonderful Counselor…Mighty God…Eternal Father… Prince of Peace" (Is. 9:6).  "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).             

           

Embrace the Light, Enjoy the joy, and pass the Good News on to others.   "The times, they are a changing" (Bob Dylan).

     

MESSIAH BRINGS PEACE

 Wherever we look in the world there seems to be violence and unrest, wars and rumors of war, and maiming and killing. Things are not well in the world.  Many people are calling for peace, working for peace, and negotiating for peace, but peace remains elusive and far away.

None of this is new to the world, mind you.  It's been the history of our species dating as far back as Cain and Abel.  The only difference these days seems to be with how quickly communication is let loose and how massively destructive are the current weapons of warfare.

So it is that when God spoke His life into human history He became the "prince of peace" (Isaiah 9:6).  His Church became the people of peace, and His kingdom spread throughout the planet as the reign of peace.  When God's people are reflecting their God and the will of God is being realized, there is peace.

The prophet Isaiah described a coming time when "the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together (Is. 11:6).  This is a description of peace, and it seems so foreign to reality that it is almost unimaginable.  Yet, in a people where the Prince of peace is Lord this unimaginable peace becomes the modus operandi.

We don't see it worldwide just yet, and there is much work yet to do, but the true Church of Jesus should already be modeling the peace of God which passes understanding. In His Church race, color, socio-economic status, educational level, background or roots fall away, and swords and spears are melted down and restructured to be tools of community instead of weapons of war.

In Jesus we are already beginning to see the truth of God, "They will not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of God as the waters cover the sea" (Is. 11:9).  We're not there yet, but there is a place and there is a people where the dream is beginning to be realized.

"The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood" (John 1:14, Msg).

GOD COMES TO US

Off in the distance, maybe closer than we think, we hear a voice calling, "Clear the way for the Lord" (Malachi 3:1).  Immediately we know God is up to something, something big--big enough to clear the desert for the building of a highway, big enough to lift up valleys and to make rough ground plain, and to turn rugged terrain into a broad valley.  This is big BIG.

           

This is so big that God Himself is going to show up.  He "will come with might, with His arm ruling for Him" (Isaiah 40:10).  He is going to show up in power and authority.  This isn't big.  This is huge.

           

And when He gets here He will be "Like a shepherd," [and] He will tend to His flock.  Did we read that correctly?  That doesn't sound so huge.  That sounds simple and ordinary.  Where are the power and authority and dynamite and flash and fireworks?  There aren't any.

           

At least it looks like there aren't any.  This "Lord" and "Shepherd" doesn't need fireworks to make His point.  He simply comes among the folks and manifests His life.  "The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood" (John 1:14 Msg).  Are you kidding me?  That's it?  Yes, that is it.

           

And, it is a big IT.  It is God the Maker of heaven and earth entering into His creation and doing so in the power and authority and gentleness of the God who loves and cares and embraces. 

           

This is huge.  This is eternity huge.  God comes to us, not to write us off but to include us in.  He comes to reveal His glory--to us.  Who would have thought it?  Only God Himself.