The other day we went out only to return to a sign on the screen door which read “Button is on our side veranda”. This came as a bit of a shock to us as up until then we had gone out secure in the thinking that our dog was safe in the backyard. The surprise was compounded when later in the day the lady from across the road arrived at our front door with that same dog in her arms.
It turned out that, upon observation Button had discovered she could climb over the fence that had, so far, kept her from the front yard and the street. She has since refined her method and instead of squeezing through a gap she can now simply go straight over the top.
This has meant we have had to resort to other, no doubt less pleasant for Button, methods of keeping her safe when we are not home: fortunately for her this does not happen for extended periods usually.
These events however did give me pause to think about our relationship with God. From the beginning of human history we have been constantly finding ways to get out of bounds. Man and woman both ate of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, a tree that had been expressly forbidden to them. It was no excuse that they were deceived and ate out of envy of God.
From that day on the society of man went from one evil to another, escalating in severity. So much so that God intervened in the affairs of man repeatedly to attempt to encourage them back to Him, but we were obdurate and refused to return.
The way this came through was with this darn dog. We are prepared to do whatever it takes to keep her “safe”, and this is but an earnest of what God has done for us. He stands ready in the full expectation that we will blow it, but with the belief that we have the capacity to make right choices, and He is ready to remind us of the right choice if we will only listen.
This is not only a promise for believers. In the last book of the Bible He states ”Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone will open the door I will come in and eat (Fellowship) with him.” This is more than just a verse from the Bible, it is a promise from the One who began this good work and created mankind, it is His statement of intent to “Reclaim” a broken humanity from the deceiver of us all.
I read an article this morning about the abuse of the Christmas consumerist tradition and how the real truth of Christmas was being hidden in all the hurry and fluster. What drove this home for me was a comment the author made about a friends reflection on the day their first born came home. For months the parents had been preparing their baby’s room but it was not the day that they delivered their precious bundle of joy to his cot and sat for a long time, just watching him sleep that they really experienced the intimacy that a baby can bring.
God did that at Christmas almost two thousand years ago at the birth of Jesus who is also called Christ. This is the event that we celebrate on December 25, not Santa bringing presents, the arrival of the baby who would grow to become the Saviour for all who would accept His gift of life. Believers are we ready to spread this fact abroad as our present to others this year?
Advent is upon us and we have the opportunity to proclaim the real truth about this time of year. Who is prepared for it?
No comments:
Post a Comment