Revolutionary Love

The wife and I went Christmas shopping today. As you can imgaine I am tired and in need of my chair, the tv and a glass of tea. Today was loud, crowded and stressful. However, in the middle of all the hustle and bustle God revealed something to me. Mary Kathryn was in a store buying a gift while Cooper and I were sitting outside watching the traffic of the mall. I noticed a man who was very ill-mannered in the way he dealt with a store clerk. He was loud, rude and quite frankly a jerk to this woman because they didn't have something in his size. I watched intently to see how the woman would respond to the gentleman. It was quite amazing.

I put myself in her shoes, imagining this man was talking to me that way. In all honesty I would have probably told the man to leave or jump in the creek but this woman very calmly told the man she was sorry and she even directed him to another store that might have his size. She was so sweet. Then a verse came to my mind; Matthew 5:44. Jesus said, "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

We should do that because Christ did it first. He loved us while we were His enemies. We were sinners and friends of this world yet Christ died for us anyway. I don't know if this clerk was a Christian or not, but I do know she was calm, cool and collective with a man who was very unloveable. I want to be that way; I want to be like Christ. I hope you do too.

The Birth of Christ

I preached my first sermon as a Pastor this past Sunday and one of the points from the message still haunts my thoughts. Jesus was born in a manger. I can't get over that. The question that overwhelms me is why; why would The King of Glory come to us that way? Would He have been any less of a Savior if He had been born in a castle? Would His blood have been any less affective if He had been wrapped in a robe? I honestly don't think it would have mattered. So again I ask why did He do it?

In a book I am currently reading the author devotes a section to the reality that God is self-centered; obsessed with Himself. Think about it God does everything for His glory including sending the Messiah to save us from our sins. And what glory He gets from using the meak and humble to do the extraordinary!

I am thankful for the way Christ came to this world. He came as a peasant but He had the authority of a King. He was born around the waste of donkeys and camals but He would wash away the filth and stinch of the sinner. Praise God for the birth of Christ!!