“So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.” Luke 2:15-16
On that night of nights, the first response of men to the announcement of the good news was a compulsion to hurry, speed, hasten, rush. It was not the kind of Christmas rush that we have come to know so painfully in our modern age. The announcement of good news to all people propelled folks into motion. Shepherds, wise men, Herod’s soldiers – they were all hurrying into the presence of the newborn king.
One of the great ironies of our time is that the birth of Christ has become the most frantic convulsion of commercialism we have seen. In many places, the most audible Christmas bell is attached to the cash register!
We sing “God rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” but there is little rest. We sing “Sleep in heavenly peace,” but we have little peace. Let’s stop. Stop the rushing about, and hurry only to grasp the meaning of this very personal intervention in time.
I once heard a man quote the great Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If” to a group of homeless men on Skid Row. They listened as he spoke, and in the pause which followed, a voice from the back row called out, “But what if I can’t?”
Mankind has pulled long enough and hard enough at their own bootstraps to know that, they can’t. That’s why Christ came. Rush? Yes, we had better be in a great rush to hasten to worship and serve the Savior born in Bethlehem, for it is only in Him we can find direction and power and purpose for our own lives and for our threatened world.
Dear Father, Thank You for bringing purpose and joy and power into our lives through Jesus. We rush to You tonight, to rest before You in peace, delighting to serve and worship You alone. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Blessings,
Cara and Patti
Classic Christianity
On that night of nights, the first response of men to the announcement of the good news was a compulsion to hurry, speed, hasten, rush. It was not the kind of Christmas rush that we have come to know so painfully in our modern age. The announcement of good news to all people propelled folks into motion. Shepherds, wise men, Herod’s soldiers – they were all hurrying into the presence of the newborn king.
One of the great ironies of our time is that the birth of Christ has become the most frantic convulsion of commercialism we have seen. In many places, the most audible Christmas bell is attached to the cash register!
We sing “God rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” but there is little rest. We sing “Sleep in heavenly peace,” but we have little peace. Let’s stop. Stop the rushing about, and hurry only to grasp the meaning of this very personal intervention in time.
I once heard a man quote the great Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If” to a group of homeless men on Skid Row. They listened as he spoke, and in the pause which followed, a voice from the back row called out, “But what if I can’t?”
Mankind has pulled long enough and hard enough at their own bootstraps to know that, they can’t. That’s why Christ came. Rush? Yes, we had better be in a great rush to hasten to worship and serve the Savior born in Bethlehem, for it is only in Him we can find direction and power and purpose for our own lives and for our threatened world.
Dear Father, Thank You for bringing purpose and joy and power into our lives through Jesus. We rush to You tonight, to rest before You in peace, delighting to serve and worship You alone. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Blessings,
Cara and Patti
Classic Christianity
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