That Poster Dec-2019 “Essential Christmas”

1st Dec 2019 That Poster (Outreach Media)

Racing car drivers and procrastinators want the same drug. It comes from that contradictory cocktail of excitement and terror. While drivers push the limits of physical ability, procrastinators push the limits of time. As fear of the impending deadline looms, finally adrenaline seeps sweetly into their system.

Let me illustrate. The greatest rush in the world is not the French 24 Hour Le Mans Endurance Race… it’s the Westfield Christmas Pressie Dash. Every year, on Christmas Eve, men who should never have been licensed as fathers, take part. And there’s absolutely no room for failure. 27 presents have to be purchased in just a few shopping hours.

You absolutely cannot stop moving to even take a short break. And that’s because you cannot – you absolutely cannot – face your children, or brother, or sisters or nieces and nephews or your parents… without a present. ESPECIALLY YOUR CHILDREN! You can’t tell them you fell down the escalator… yesterday! That’s not an acceptable explanation.

So, at Christmas, some things are essential. For many families, that means presents. But there’s an age-old reason for giving each other presents at Christmas. It’s in honour of a gift God gave to the whole world a long time ago. It’s essential to our survival. It was the gift of God’s own son, Jesus Christ.

And now Christmas is that time of year when we remember his arrival, when an angel appeared to shepherds on a hillside and told them,

“I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11)

Jesus is the essential part of Christmas. He’s the ‘reason for the season’. His title, ‘Christ’ is right there at the beginning of ‘Christmas’. But although he’s essential, Jesus isn’t always welcome. In our distracted, adrenaline charged world, perhaps you’ve always wondered just how Jesus fits but you’ve put off finding answers.

If that’s you, then don’t put Jesus off any longer. Take the time this Christmas to read the Bible and meet him. You can do this for free on the internet at lots of places (like biblegateway.com). By typing in Isaiah 9:2, 6-7 you can read a prophecy given nearly 800 years before Jesus came. To read about Mary, a virgin, amazingly becoming pregnant with Jesus, type in Luke 1:26-38. Then you could read about Jesus’s birth by typing in Luke 2.

It may not get the adrenaline going like a bungee jump does, but it’s genuinely exciting news.

Ian Brunton