I got in the car to go to my brother's on Christmas afternoon, and the radio was on. We chose 106.5, the one adult format station that doesn't cave to seasonal pressure. If I want Christmas music, I'll go to church. They were playing "Locked Out Of Heaven," by Bruno Mars. It worked somehow.
It's a sketchy song, but it tells us something important. Even when people are doing the most selfish things, like using each other for sexual gratification, they are thinking of and hoping for Heaven. That's how much of a claim God has over us.
The power of Christmas and Jesus Christ is this: You don't know many people completely unaffected by the "magic" of Christmas. The worst person you know can't fail to notice that these days are different. That vague intuition, no matter how poorly articulated, is the work of grace. It's grace that can lead all the way to salvation in Christ, if one remains open to God's promptings.
The weary world rejoices, because frankly, we've cried enough tears to fill the desert lately. We don't have a choice. Maybe that's a good place to be, emptied of all pretense of ability and strength. As it is written, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom."
Let Christ in this Christmas. Don't stop at the faintest desire for goodness and joy. Chase him, and you will find he has really been chasing you.
It's a sketchy song, but it tells us something important. Even when people are doing the most selfish things, like using each other for sexual gratification, they are thinking of and hoping for Heaven. That's how much of a claim God has over us.
The power of Christmas and Jesus Christ is this: You don't know many people completely unaffected by the "magic" of Christmas. The worst person you know can't fail to notice that these days are different. That vague intuition, no matter how poorly articulated, is the work of grace. It's grace that can lead all the way to salvation in Christ, if one remains open to God's promptings.
The weary world rejoices, because frankly, we've cried enough tears to fill the desert lately. We don't have a choice. Maybe that's a good place to be, emptied of all pretense of ability and strength. As it is written, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom."
Let Christ in this Christmas. Don't stop at the faintest desire for goodness and joy. Chase him, and you will find he has really been chasing you.
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