TEXT:
‘For unto us a child is born; unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder. These will be his royal titles: “Wonderful,” “Counsellor,” “The Mighty God,” “The Everlasting Father,” “The Prince of Peace”’ (Isaiah 9:6 TLB)
THOUGHT:
Countless adverts promote the new iPhone 12 with its 5G download speed. People look enviously at the person who now has it. Advertisers choose to ignore the Tenth Commandment, ‘You shall not covet your neighbour’s house ….nor anything that is your neighbour’s’ (Exodus 20:17). Instead they promote the erroneous idea that we must have the latest product for it will make us a better person and one to be envied, when in reality all it does most of the time is make us poorer. The excitement of getting soon wears off, but the commitment to keep paying continues if we have used credit. So let’s consider a 5G Christmas from heaven’s viewpoint.
- 1G – God
‘In the beginning God’ (John 1:1). Everything starts with God because He is the One who started everything in the first place. ‘All things were made through Him’ (John 1:3). So the first challenge is, “Will God receive an acknowledgement or even get a look-in during my festive celebrations?”
- 2G – Gift
‘For God so loved the world that He gave’ (John 3:16). It’s one thing to give a present because we have to, but it is so much better to give because we want to! God so loved the world He gave. Christmas is the gift of Christ. It’s about His birth!
The world now chooses to describe Christmas without any religious connotation so Jesus does not get a mention, but Jesus is God’s present for the present! We do not have to unwrap Jesus to discover what He is really like, just read the Bible. Instead we have to open our hearts and let the present come in.
- 3G – Grace
This is God’s motive behind his gift. Grace is God’s unmerited favour, something we neither deserve nor can earn. He freely bestows it on us all. Grace reflects God’s ability and willingness to give. The Leper asked Jesus, ‘If You are willing You can make me clean?’ (Mark 1:40). Grace answered yes, and He did!
- 4G – Great
Great Peace
The angel of the Lord said, ‘And on earth peace, goodwill toward men’ (Luke 2:14). Tremendous efforts are being made to stop the virus, but no one can stop death itself. One day we will die even if there is no real cause other than our heart simply stops beating. How much better it is to face that time having made your peace with God, by asking Jesus, the Prince of Peace, into your heart.
Great Joy
The angel of the Lord said, ‘I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people’ (Luke 2:10). When the wise men saw the star, ‘They rejoiced with exceedingly great joy’ (Matthew 2:10). The Christmas carol rings out, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come”. Without Jesus you will have a joyless Christmas whatever your celebrations.
- 5G – Glory to God
After the angel had announced to the shepherds that Christ had been born, the sky was filled with a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest’ (Luke 2:14). The shepherds returned from seeing Jesus, ‘Glorifying and praising God’ (Luke 2:20).
Christmas starts and ends with God. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. When you let Him have a beginning in your life, He will take care of the end. Let us join in with the angels and give glory to God.
Angels from the realms of glory,
Wing your flight o’er all the earth.
Ye who sang creation’s story,
Now proclaim Messiah’s birth.
Come and worship,
Christ the new-born King.
Come and worship,
Worship Christ the new-born King.
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