Story Time

Merry Christmas

Christmas is around the corner.  It’s a time of the year most people look forward to with expectations of some kind.  Family, concerts, gifts, a special church service and some days off work.  However, it has been said that it is also a sad time for many people. The biggest sadness is loneliness. For some it may be a recent loss of a family member. For others it’s just that there is no one.  Sometimes even in the middle of a crowd loneliness hits hard.   

Now remember; despite these feelings there are people everywhere.  And where there are people there are opportunities.  The Christmas carol lyrics talk about the 12 days of Christmas.  This year think 2 or 3 days of Christmas and on those days, the twenty-fourth, the twenty-fifth, and the twenty-sixth reach out to at least one person each day.  Stop someone on the street, message someone or call someone and wish them a special time of the day. “Sir or Madam, I just want you to have a special day. It’s the time of the year we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.” Something like that.

Taking your mind of yourself and passing on a greeting of some kind is a wonderful way to battle loneliness.  Try it and if you feel blessed extend the number of days to six or even twelve. When you get to the first of January you can just change the wording.  Merry Christmas. 

 COME!!!

The most beautiful, inviting word in the scriptures is ‘come’. There is something warm and enticing that brings security and comfort. And why not? Jesus said, ‘Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy and heavy laden and I will give you rest.’ He didn’t say, ‘Go here or there and you will find something.’ No, he said , ‘Come’. 

We won’t find deliverance from our fears, freedom from our addictions to sin and sinful habits by going, whether it is to havens or clinics. The answer is the invitation from our Saviour to ‘come’. We may find a temporary easing of the sharpest pangs of terror or the most insistent calls to sin by going. However, when Jesus calls us to ‘come unto me’, we find a deliverance as his love and our love for him replace the fears in our life. What can harm us? What can compel us to evil and sin? While we are in his arms, while his strong, gentle hands hold us, we are safe. We need not fear what man can do to us or what circumstances throw us. We are safe. We are secure. What happens, happens, but nothing, no one, can harm my soul.

Jesus said, ‘I am the good shepherd’. A shepherd does not drive his sheep before him. A shepherd walks before his sheep, leading them to the greenest grass, to the meadows where cool, refreshing waters flow. When we follow the Good Shepherd, he is always the first to step into any situation, choosing the safest and best path. He will see the dangers long before his sheep will face them. He drives the evil before him and says, ‘Depart’. As long as the sheep stay close, they are safe. At times a sheep will stray and it may be you or I. We see green grass just off to the side. We see a pool of water not far off the path. We step away from the protection of our shepherd and feel quite assured of our own strength. The lure of the unknown and excitement entices us to just take a few steps in a different direction. The enticements continue and we are led slowly but surely further distant. We look back to the flock, wondering if we are being wise. We know the shepherd wants us to stay near him and in his pastures. But, surely he would have nothing against us trying some delightful looking grass not too far from the flock? Is that the shepherd’s voice I hear? ‘Come back, stay near me, there is danger if you stray’. But, I’m not really straying. I’ll not go far. Just a few steps and I’ll be back. However, one step becomes two and then three. Finally, the Shepherd’s voice becomes faint and then, I don’t hear it anymore. ‘Where is he? Why has he left me? Where am I? How do I find my way back?’ Fear grips my heart as I find myself alone, on a cold mountain ledge. One misstep and I will plunge to my destruction on the rocks below. As I cower in terror, I hear a voice calling my name. I give voice to my fears and the Shepherd hears. As he reaches me, he says gently, ‘Come, I have been searching for you, for you have strayed into the perils of the wolf who is determined to have you. Come with me and stay near me. You will find safety and security with me, for I care for you.’

The answer to every problem and trial in life is the Shepherd. The sweetest, warmest, safest word in the world is spoken by the Shepherd, ‘Come’. Whatever cold, dangerous mountain crag we are standing on, let us hear the voice of the Shepherd and ask him to ‘come’. The shepherd and a wayward but seeking lamb will always find each other.