As we celebrate the birth of Christ, let us remember and be thankful that God is in control.
This does not relieve us of our duty to do what we can. Noah built the ark but God closed the door. Noah cared for the animals during the months the ark was afloat but God kept the ark safe.
The months and years ahead may be challenging and heartbreaking but we may rest assured that God is guiding our course and that the battle, through His finished work on the cross is already won.
"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."Luke 2:11
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
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4 comments:
Merry Christmas, Mom.
Merry Christmass, Mom.
Mom, you said, "God is guiding our course and that the battle, through His finished work on the cross is already won," and this is, of course, entirely true. What is very, very difficult for most of us to keep in mind, is that the victory is quite likely not in this world but in the next. We may lose everything in this world, so that it appears that the powers of darkness do win in this world. That is truly disheartening to those of us that remain in this world, and it is difficult for us to keep our minds fixed on the eternal goal, pushing the temporal aside. We all have a tendency to look at the here-and-now as what counts.
This is one of the reasons why the season of Advent, preceding Christmass, is so very important. It helps to focus our minds on the Second Coming at least as much as on the First Coming, so that we will be more inclined to remember that the goal is in eternity, not in this life. We do indeed have to be prepared to give up everything, to lose everything, here in this life, in order to inherit eternal life.
I am writing to you on Saturday, the feast of St. John Evangelist. Tomorrow will be the feast of the Holy Innocents, the remembrance of the infant boys slain by Herod in his efforts to kill the Christ child. We have to remember that even though these small boys, all no more than two years old, had their lives snuffed out in infancy, they have not lost their lives but rather gain eternal life with God. They were the very first Christian martyrs. God was in control then too. In doing this, Herod fulfilled the prophecy found in Jeremiah 31:15 (I think that is the reference) regarding Rachel crying for her children.
The victory for most of us is not to be here on this earth. If it is here, we should wonder if we have perhaps missed the real prize. The real victory is in heaven when we hear our Lord say, "Well done thou good and faithful servant ..."
Yes, God is in control, and our job is to persevere until the end. Nothing more. We are not called to be victorious here below.
Thank you Dr.D.
I'm with you on the victory in the next world thing.
I posted as I did because I am embattled on multiple fronts right now. Sometimes it's hard to see the point.
I have to keep reminding myself that it is not the appearance of victory that counts, but rather the quality of the battle.
Ronald Reagan said:
“The character that takes command in moments of crucial choices has already been determined by a thousand other choices made earlier in seemingly unimportant moments. It has been determined by all the ‘little’ choices of years past—by all those times when the voice of conscience was at war with the voice of temptation, [which was] whispering the lie that ‘it really doesn’t matter.’ It has been determined by all the day-to-day decisions made when life seemed easy and crises seemed far away—the decision that, piece by piece, bit by bit, developed habits of discipline or of laziness; habits of self-sacrifice or self-indulgence; habits of duty and honor and integrity—or dishonor and shame.”
I'm working to make those small everyday decisions the right ones.
A Happy New Year to you and Yours.
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