The Final Curtain

The stage was set…all the cast members and their understudies, past and present, were in their proper places. The director of the universe stood motionless as all creation waited for that one word…. “ACTION!”

And the spotlight of heaven shone…center stage…on the main character of this heavenly production. In fact, scripture says the following in Luke 2:6-7, “And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”

All creation had been waiting for this time...the perfect time in history for God’s plan of salvation to be set in motion.

Now, surely, Mary was ready, after nine long months of waiting, to give birth to her son that night; but that’s not exactly the entire meaning when the scripture says “the time came for her to give birth.” God is telling us in this passage that He alone had set the stage, informed the cast and prepared the audience for His plan to unfold. His timing is always impeccable….and He would not be rushed into bringing His Son into a world that was lost and without hope.

And so, our focus each Christmas is simple….God directs the world to receive His Son whether we are ready or not. He didn’t ask for permission or consult the stars or hope this was the right thing to do …He brought His plan to fruition…and sent His Son in a form that we would understand and embrace….a baby born just like each one of us. Ten fingers, ten toes, two eyes and heart that beat within his chest….wrapped in cloth strips and laid next to his mother in a cattle’s feeding manger. The timing was God’s timing and IT WAS PERFECT!!!

God sent His Son to a world that was not prepared for Him….there was no place in the inn; but, that’s where the last member of our cast of Christmas characters comes in….cue you and me!!!!

You see, we have the same opportunity as the old innkeeper …we can decide if there is a place for the Savior in our life. We can tell him that we are just too busy; too many things to do, places to go and people to see to be bothered with all this Christmas pageantry …or we can surrender our will and our desires at Christmas to celebrate the perfect timing of our Father who gave His only Son at Christmas.

Christ left his throne, laid down His crown, stripped off His royal robes and came to earth so He could remove, once and forevermore, the great chasm of sin that separates us from our Heavenly Father.

This was the first step in the story of the cradle, the cross and the crown. It was the reason that God prepared Mary and Joseph, established the connection between Elizabeth and Mary and sent Gabriel and the multitude of the heavenly host to a lowly band of shepherds. Even the wise men were ordained in God’s great salvation story to present this little babe with presents fit for royalty.

And now, the final act is on stage….how will you respond as the last character in this Christmas story? Will you accept this free gift of a little babe who came to give his life to restore a right relationship with God….or will you pull the curtains closed and walk away with out professing that Jesus Christ is Lord indeed?

The question is simple….do you know this baby Jesus as your Lord and Savior? If not, why not invite Him into your heart this Christmas and for the first time ever…you will be able to celebrate the real, true and everlasting meaning of Christmas.

My prayer is simple this Christmas…May all those we know and love celebrate the TRUE meaning of our Savior’s birth this Christmas.

Happy Birthday, Jesus …Merry Christmas to all,

WPQ