These Three Remain...

I have discovered something about Christmas that had never really dawned on me before. Christmas is really not about Jesus. Hold on, before you accuse me of being blasphemous—let me explain. Christmas is most certainly about Jesus to a certain extent; the baby in the manger, God in flesh appearing, Jesus humbling Himself to come into the world to save us from our sins. But, if you think about it, is Christmas not also about our Father? The focus of the season has always been on the baby born in Bethlehem; but what about His Father? The one of whom the Bible says “…the Father himself loves you”? (John 16:27) When do we celebrate what He has done for us? He sent his one and only Son to Earth—His Special One. He understands what pain is all about; He experienced the ultimate form of it. But He so loved us that He sent His Son to die for us. In the age of the New Testament, have we perhaps lost sight of The Father? Many people seem to think that, with the ending of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New, that the Father has stepped back to make room for the Son. No! The Father is all the more prevalent; Jesus said that if we have a request, go to the Father. He didn’t say, “Go to me and I will ask the Father for you.” He said go to the Father.

Please don’t get me wrong—I don’t want to minimize what Christ did for us by coming to Earth, nor do I wish to take the emphasis off of the Gift—such a wonderful, extreme physical manifestation of Love itself; but rather, I’d like to place more emphasis than has been in the past on the Giver Himself. Perhaps we should view Christmas as the day of God the Father’s gift, and Easter as the day of God the Son’s gift? Would there be the latter without the former? Would the former be as important without the latter? Again, please don’t misunderstand me—I believe with all of my heart that Jesus loves me with a love greater than I can even begin to comprehend or fathom; but does the Father not love us just as much? He longs to hear from us; He wants so badly for you to speak with Him, ask Him, thank Him….Is it not just as hard for the one who is sacrificing as it is for the one who is to be sacrificed (think of Abraham and Isaac)?

So, while please remember the beautiful, priceless Gift of the baby in the manger and what He represented, remember also the Giver and His overwhelming, enveloping, surpassing, self-sacrificial Love for mankind manifested on that night in Bethlehem.

Happy Independence Day everyone! May God bless America!

“[July 4th] ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.” ~John Adams

“ God governs in the affairs of man. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. I also believe that, without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel.” ~Benjamin Franklin

“It cannot be emphasized too clearly and too often that this nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason, peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.” ~Patrick Henry

“God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift from God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that His justice cannot sleep forever.” ~Thomas Jefferson (emphasis mine)