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WHY GOD PERMITS
CHRISTMAS #5
CHRISTMAS AND THE DESIGNATED-HITTER
RULE
I have a very important Christmas question to ask you today. Here it is:
In baseball, do you prefer the American League with its designated-hitter
rule, or do you like the National League better, where the pitcher has
to bat for himself? Now, that probably sounds like a question coming right
out of left field — no pun intended — and no, you didn't accidently tune
in to a Voice of Prophecy Sportstalk program by mistake; this is still
a Christian radio ministry. But that designated-hitter rule is going to
come up for discussion in just a few minutes — for the purpose of making
a Christmas point.
Beginning this past Monday, we began to consider some of the PROBLEMS
with Christmas. The 25th of December is a day that has its original roots
in pagan worship ceremonies — and not the most ennobling ceremonies either.
It's a holiday filled with selfish commercialism and greed; gift-giving
becomes an exhausting and UNspiritual form of competition. And we could
go on and on.
Still — and all week this has been to our amazement — God PERMITS Christmas!
Despite the many problems and pitfalls, heaven has given its blessing.
I hope you are as blessed as the Melashenko and Richards families are
as we exchange gifts and sang carols and remember that Jesus was and always
is the greatest Gift of all.
But today . . . another trouble spot to reflect on. And perhaps this is
one that will have meaning to some of you listening in.
For many, many people — including a number who would readily accept the
label of "Christian" — December 25 is their once-a-year time
to DO religion. They are in church ONE DAY a year. They reflect on this
person named Jesus ONE DAY a year. They reach into their wallet or purse
and put an offering into a plate ONE TIME a year. And for them, they think
that's enough. Christmas is their escape clause, their token moment that
keeps their membership in the club intact.
When you think about it, it's very similar to the small
child who decides to PLAY house. "I'll be the daddy, and you be the
mommy." And there's a costume you wear and a ritual you go through,
"(quote) driving to the office" or cooking up a dinner and taking
care of the dolls who have stomach-aches and fevers. But it's not the
real thing! And Christmas Christianity, which we would think is at least
better than nothing, can sometimes be WORSE than nothing because people
decide that Christmas Christianity IS the real thing, that it's enough.
And I wish you would think with me about this kind of once-a-year Christianity.
You sit in that church ONE TIME in the entire year of 2001. One time!
And you think about the fact that the Christ Child came down to this planet.
He was born in a manger. The angel choirs sang. And yes, He died on the
cross and rose again. It's a beautiful story, and you DO find yourself
nodding your head to it. You heard it last year too, and it's good to
be reminded. And as you go out into the parking lot and the cold Christmas
Eve air, you kind of think to yourself, "That was good. I'm glad
I went. Next year I'll go again." And you drive home.
SO WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT?! We give each other Christmas gifts just once
a year; why can't a single trip to church on the 25th of every December
be enough as well?
Let me share a couple of observations, and today here on the radio this
is just kind of "Lonnie talking" as we wrap up 2001. A fireside
chat, so to speak. But friend, the kind of once-a-year Christianity we've
just discussed . . . so tragically misses the point of all that God longs
to give us. And all that He longs for US to give HIM.
We sit in that pew on Christmas Eve and say, in essence, "Lord, this
is all you can have. ONE HOUR out of the 9,360 in the year. I'll sit here
before Your throne for ONE HOUR, but then I've got things to do."
Can you imagine a wife or a husband or a child or a friend or a co-worker
saying, "One hour a year. That's all you're worth. I've got 9,360
hours of time to spend in 2001, but I can only give you ONE of them, because
there are a lot of good TV shows I've got to get back to."
Is there such a thing as giving a gift without really giving it? You hold
out the package to someone, but you never quite put it in their hands.
It's just too valuable to give away. "Here," you say, but then
you simply can't let it go. And so we say to the Lord, "Yes, I want
you to have my life, but I don't want You to REALLY have it. A DAILY relationship
with You? A WEEKLY time of fellowship? An offering in the plate EVERY
Sabbath or Sunday morning? Lord, I want a commitment, but not that kind
of commitment." And we hold onto our package, and finally we pull
it back and take it back out to the car and put it in the trunk as we
drive back home.
And the same goes the other direction. God wants to give you SO MUCH,
friend! He wants to be a part of your life every WEEK, every HOUR! He
wants to walk with you and talk with you, to give you blessings during
all 366 days of the 2002 calendar. But we kind of stiffen up and give
a little shake of our heads. WE DON'T REALLY WANT HIS PRESENT! To accept
such a gift would really obligate us, and we'd frankly rather be left
alone.
And so on both sides, the gift remains ungiven. There's just that brief
moment, that one hour in the church building with all the candles and
Christmas bows and the choir singing the holiday cantata. And we give
God a little nod of recognition: "Good to see you again," and
go out into the night.
And then there's a second concern — and here it is. Time is very short.
That's always a Voice of Prophecy theme, but it's especially true as we
head into the uncharted waters of 2002. Time is very short . . . and every
passing Christmas reminds us that it's getting shorter all the time. We're
getting perilously close to the end of time.
Up in the town of Arroyo Grande, about 130 miles north of us on the 101
Ventura Freeway, they erect a large Christmas tree every December. It's
actually a big string of lights that stream out from a tall pole on the
highest hill in town. And right after Thanksgiving each year, a crew comes
out from the city office and they string up those lights. All December
long, as you drive north or south on the 101 freeway, there's that beautiful
Christmas tree silently spreading its message throughout the darkened
hills and out to Pismo Beach and the fishing boats on the Pacific Ocean.
And as December 1 arrives and those lights go up, I know the local residents
always say to themselves, "Can it be Christmas again? Another year
has passed already? How the time does go by." And especially for
the born-again Christian — and really, this is true for all of us — the
Christmas lights are a reminder that another year has passed. We've turned
another page in the book of life . . . and the return of our Savior is
one year closer.
You know, that takes me back very briefly to our little baseball debate.
In the American League, where pitchers never bat and a designated good
hitter takes the spot of the pitcher, you have a lineup of all hitters.
Yes, you go through nine spots and then repeat them. But sometimes when
I watch an American League game, I find myself losing track of where we
are in the lineup. And you see, it's not like that in the National League
where you go through the first eight batters and then have the PITCHER
bat. Somehow, having that pitcher bat gives a certain STRUCTURE to the
lineup. After the pitcher, you know you're through the whole lineup and
you start over again. And in a way, I've always liked that.
And CHRISTMAS serves to remind us all that another year is over. We're
only a few days away from the end of 2001. We've been through the batting
lineup and we're about ready to begin again.
I honestly believe this is another reason why God ALLOWS
Christmas. This special holiday is kind of a heavenly ringing-of-the-bell.
It wakes us up to the fact that we have one less year than we did before.
Friend, you don't know when Jesus Christ is coming again, and neither
do I. No one on this planet knows. But we can ALL know that it's one year
sooner than it was on December 30, 2000 . . . and Christmas serves to
remind us of that fact. And you also know that I'm a Seventh-day ADVENTIST
Christian, so proclaiming the good news of Jesus' soon return is one of
my favorite things to do here on The Voice of Prophecy.
Stop and think about the fact that there's just a certain FINITE number
of Christmases left to be celebrated on this planet. How many left? We
don't know. The one we had just four days ago might even be the last one.
Wouldn't that be something?
But one thing we know for sure, friend. One of these years it WILL be
the last one! There WILL be a LAST Christmas on earth and a FIRST Christmas
in heaven! Do you believe that? I wouldn't be here on the radio if I didn't
believe that. And I just love to cling to the hope, the PROMISE of that
first Christmas in heaven. What a thrill to sit in front of GOD'S Christmas
tree and hear HIS Christmas choir and open up the gifts HE has for us.
He's up there right now getting it ready, friend. It's closer all the
time, and He's getting ready. Are WE getting ready too?
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