I hope the following sheds some light on a 2,000 year old mystery…
How far and to what lengths would you go for…
– A one in five chance to win the lottery?
– A shot at saving the life of a loved one?
– The opportunity to bring peace to a strained relationship?
– Assurance of your eternal destiny?
– A Klondike bar?
Surely you’d at least…
– Pay ten dollars (the price of an average movie ticket)
– Tell someone about a possible cure for an ailment they are suffering from.
– Work a few hours
– Show up for one meeting
– Bring it up in conversation
Probably a whole lot more, but my guess is that most of us would at least do something! Except for the Klondike bar.
That’s why one of the greatest mysteries in all the Bible to me is, why all the religious scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, zealots, priests, and religious leaders of every stripe and feather chose to do NOTHING about the single most important piece of news in all of history—the arrival of their long awaited Messiah. The time was right, all the prophecies had converged, and most of all, the location was a mere 6 MILES AWAY from where they were all huddled with their scrolls and religious relics.
But history tells us none of them budged. They never even started the journey to Bethlehem. There’s no indication they even thought about going—which amounts to this…
We can spend our entire lives…
– hoping for something
– preparing for it
– studying it
– expecting it
– teaching it
And yet completely miss IT!
In fact, this Christmas millions all around the world will do just that. Ask most people what their most anticipated holiday of the year is, their favorite time of the entire twelve month calendar, and nearly all will tell you it’s Christmas. Nevertheless, most of those people will never encounter the God for whom the holiday is named after—CHRISTmas.
Don’t let that be you.
And don’t let that be the story of any of those you care about.
Invite them to Christmas Eve Eve (if you or they are planning on leaving town for Christmas) or Christmas Eve, where they will not only hear about the Son of promise—but likely encounter Him as well!
* Hey Impactors, don’t forget that we are combining services THIS Sunday (Dec. 22nd) AND next Sunday (Dec. 29th) for just an 11:00 AM service — Spread the word! We will return to the 2 service format on Sunday, January 5th 2014!
