MUSINGS ON A MIRACLE: THE WONDER OF CHRISTMAS – Part 1

NOTE: I was pleasantly surprised to recently find this “MUSINGS ON A MIRACLE” written 30 years ago by my late father-in-law Don Smith. I have divided it into nine parts to share here.

MUSINGS ON A MIRACLE: THE WONDER OF CHRISTMAS

What does Christmas mean to me?  Well, something more than a twinkling tree,
Something more than tinsel and toys, something more than transient joys;
Something more than a hectic rush, something more than commercial crush,
Something more than Santa and sleighs, something more than the latest craze;
Something more than boisterous song, something more than spirits strong,
Something more than a candle’s glow, something more than falling snow;
Something more than jingling bells, something more than organ swells,
Something more than cards and ribbon, something more than feasts and fibbin’.

Oh, it’s fun to celebrate and spend one’s cash at a rapid rate,
To see old friends, hear their latest news, think ahead to a winter cruise,
It’s quite OK to sing and pray, for Christmas is a special day,
But when warm hearts and heartburn too, fade away and the day is through –
What has it meant and what will last when the high of Christmastide is past?
Forget for now the old clichés, let’s think anew about the ways

In which we often blithely blunder and miss the mark of Christmas wonder;

Along with you I’d like to muse about some very special news,

Perhaps rethink our long-held views about the miracle of truths

Which said in rhyme or with good reason are at the heart of the Christmas season;

Surely, friends, to feel so glad, is something more than a passing fad,

Let’s focus in on this blessed event and probe its meaning before we’re spent;

In the midst of feasting, the frost and the fizz, let’s look and see what Christmas is,

As we hear the familiar story, may we discover a greater glory –

For all our ills a certain cure and a happy hope that will endure.

-- Don G. Smith, Lorne Park Baptist Church, Mississauga, Ontario, December 7, 1986

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FORETOLD LONG AGO

“Bethlehem Ephrathah,… out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be ruler in Israel.”  (Micah 5:2)

Many details of Jesus’ birth, life, and death were prophesied hundreds of years before they were fulfilled. That this could be accounted for by coincidence is all but impossible. In his book Science Speaks, Peter Stoner applies the modern science of probability to just eight prophesies (one of which is today’s text). He says, “…the chance that any man might have… fulfilled all eight prophesies is one in 10 to the 17^th. That would be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000.” (That’s one hundred quadrillion.) Stoner suggests that “we take 10 to the 17^th silver dollars and lay them on the face of Texas. They will cover all of the state 2 feet deep. Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the whole mass thoroughly… Blindfold a man and tell him he can travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up that one marked silver dollar. What chance would he have of getting the right one?” Stoner concludes, “Just the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing those eight prophesies and having them all come true in one man,… providing they wrote them in their own wisdom."

Christ’s coming was the exact fulfilment of many prophesies… So this Christmas, let’s thank God for sending His Son into the world to die and rise again… The Savior came into this world just as the prophets foretold long ago.

-- D.J.D. in the Upper Room Daily Devotional

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ALMOST PERSUADED

“Almost persuaded” now to believe;
“Almost persuaded” Christ to receive;
Seems now some soul to say,
“Go, Spirit, go Thy way,
Some more convenient day
On Thee I’ll call.”

“Almost persuaded,” come, come today;

“Almost persuaded,” turn not away;
Jesus invites you here,
Angels are ling’ring near,
Prayers rise from hearts so dear;
O wand’rer, come!

“Almost persuaded,” harvest is past!

“Almost persuaded,” doom comes at last!
“Almost” cannot avail;
“Almost” is but to fail!
Sad, sad, that bitter wail—
“Almost,” but lost!

-- Philip P. Bliss

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ADVENT LISTENING AND LOOKING

I once saw a quote -- maybe it was on a bumper sticker -- that went something like this: “If you feel distant from God, just ask yourself, ‘Who moved?’” If God seems hidden to us, maybe it is because we have stopped looking for God in the midst of our daily lives. In the Scriptures, heaven is not a far away place “way beyond the blue” as the old song says; but rather it is God’s realm, God’s dwelling, and it is quite near to us. All we need to do is put down the mirror and open a window in the relationship God wants to share with us. Rather than a booming shout from the clouds, God more often is revealed in the “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12 KJV). We can hear if we are focused enough to listen.

Advent reminds us, too, that if we want to see the face of the hidden God, we do not do so by looking up for a heavenly sound or light spectacular. Rather, we find it by looking into the dark recesses of a stable and into the eyes of a humble, helpless child.

-- Robert Kaylor in Come to the Manger

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A NEW FUTURE AND A NEW HOPE

Have you ever stopped to wonder why Jesus was so patient with the Samaritan woman?  Here's my guess: Jesus understood that He wasn't dealing with an evangelistic project; He was dealing with a real person who had real needs.  He knew that before she could begin dealing correctly with her sin issues, she had to become a believer first.  Because He had His expectations set correctly, Jesus was able to treat her with dignity and encouragement instead of judgment and condemnation.  As the second person of the Trinity, Jesus had access to the entire universe of information about this woman that you and I wouldn't have had.  But despite His knowledge of the problem-laden past, He didn't rub her face in it.  Instead, He chose to fan a future flame in her.  "The days ahead don't have to be the same for you," He probably said.

Evidently, it was just the glimmer of hope she needed.  The text says that once the woman received grace, she ran back to the village to tell all of her friends about this man who "knew everything" about her.  In her haste, she left her water pot there at the well -- significant because water was such a precious commodity in those days.  Here she was, a sin-scarred woman who had been freshly converted.  Now, more than anything else -- even ensuring her water supply for the day -- she desired to tell everyone how Jesus gave her a new future and a new hope.  Despite countless details the Bible could have given us about the mental, spiritual, and physical state she was in when she first received grace, all we learn is that she dropped everything and ran off to tell her friends her good news.  Christ's patience paid off, wouldn't you agree?

You and I have been redeemed and restored for a similar purpose -- a purpose that is just as notable as spending eternity with God in heaven.  You and I are expected and encouraged to share our salvation with others so that God's ultimate agenda is served -- that all people would come to know Him as Father.

-- Bill Hybels in Just Walk Across the Room

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