A Special Gift

I saw a living nativity scene a few weeks ago while Ann and I attended a local Christmas event. It prompted me to think of a living nativity scene that our church youth group did many years ago.  The youth fellowship in my home church had gotten the idea that we would create a living nativity scene as Christmas came near.   We thought that it would be a great gift to give the community that passed by going to and fro on busy Graham-Hopedale Road in Burlington.     As many of you know, sometimes good ideas do not translate into great problem-free events.    Such was the case with our youth planned living nativity scene.  Carl Parks was kind enough to let us use some of his livestock for our make shift stable.  While they certainly looked the part,  they were not too eager to be still in our stable and we were not too skilled  in looking after the livestock. One of the sheep ran into busy Graham Hopedale Road and one of the cows was more eager to eat the grass  on the church lawn than to stay in our stable.  And the characters in the nativity scene.  I recall that some of the wise men and shepherds were more  interested in spending time drinking hot chocolate with their girlfriends than being on duty in the stable.  A perfectly good idea was certainly filled with all sorts of imperfections.

I think of that living nativity scene in these days even though it has been almost 45 years ago.   It is certainly obvious as we hear the story about the birth of Jesus that it  was not a perfectly good time for Mary to have a baby as she was far from home and the stable was not the kind of nursery any woman would desire.   Yet, into that imperfect world to imperfect people came the holy, most perfect God.  They named him Jesus for he would save His people from their sins.

I know there are people reading this who pine for a perfect Christmas but it is elusive to them.   Their family circumstance is not perfect or their gatherings  are not a perfect resemblance to a Norman Rockwell painting.  Yet, to us in 2015 as to those at Grace Church in 1970 and to those in Bethlehem long ago comes the fullness and glory of our perfect God in Christ Jesus, the newborn Savior.

A Merry Christmas to one and all. -  Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:   O Lord,  thank you for the gift of yourself and your love.  Help me to offer the gift of your love to others with joy and gladness;  through Jesus Christ, the babe of Bethlehem, I pray.  Amen.