The road to Heaven
As we race toward the fun, joy and richness of Christmas, I have always had a tinge of sadness in my heart at this time of year. I know some of it comes from having lost my father mere weeks before Christmas and then there is the anniversary of Pearl Harbor when we commemorate not only those who died in that harbor, but all of those who gave their lives during wartime. I have finally come to realize, however, that the sadness is not a bad thing, for it firms up my belief that there is something very special about anyone who gives the ultimate gift, the gift of their life for someone else. It's a very tough thing to consider and carry out, but when we realize that is what our Savior did about thirty three years after He was born, its full impact is clearly felt. The Savior, born on earth as a poor son of a carpenter, grew up, largely with little known about him, then spent three years of teaching, preaching, healing and spreading God's love before he ultimately died in such a horrible way on the Cross.
It's truly amazing to understand that God, all powerful and all knowing, would choose death for His only Son when he could have allowed death to happen to us sinners as a finality to our own lives. But God is a loving and giving God and he chose to let His Son die so horribly on the Cross for our sins. At that exact moment when he breathed His last breath at Calvary, he had forgiven us and the only other requirement for us to receive that forgiveness was to believe in Him by faith. For with real faith in Jesus Christ, when we live that faith we will have attained that level that He seeks. Oh, we will never be perfect and totally live in our Father's image, but we will show that we are striving, learning and growing into the Christian that He wants us to be.
So, when we celebrate the birth of that precious Baby Jesus, remember that it is He who will grow up to be a profound teacher and preacher who has the gift of miracles in His hands and that all of His earthly life came about for one special purpose: to die so that we might have the opportunity to attain Salvation and everlasting life in heaven above through that death. And also remember one other thing. Since giving up life for others is oh, so special, all of those men and women who gave their lives for us also hold a special place in God's heart. I fully expect to see and meet them when my life on this earth is done. Isn't that a wonderful goal to aim for? There can be none better.
It's truly amazing to understand that God, all powerful and all knowing, would choose death for His only Son when he could have allowed death to happen to us sinners as a finality to our own lives. But God is a loving and giving God and he chose to let His Son die so horribly on the Cross for our sins. At that exact moment when he breathed His last breath at Calvary, he had forgiven us and the only other requirement for us to receive that forgiveness was to believe in Him by faith. For with real faith in Jesus Christ, when we live that faith we will have attained that level that He seeks. Oh, we will never be perfect and totally live in our Father's image, but we will show that we are striving, learning and growing into the Christian that He wants us to be.
So, when we celebrate the birth of that precious Baby Jesus, remember that it is He who will grow up to be a profound teacher and preacher who has the gift of miracles in His hands and that all of His earthly life came about for one special purpose: to die so that we might have the opportunity to attain Salvation and everlasting life in heaven above through that death. And also remember one other thing. Since giving up life for others is oh, so special, all of those men and women who gave their lives for us also hold a special place in God's heart. I fully expect to see and meet them when my life on this earth is done. Isn't that a wonderful goal to aim for? There can be none better.
RSS Feed