A Christmas party changed my life. Many years ago, I pondered whether the activities at a party I had attended that night honored Christ. I concluded, they did not. And I decided then and there that I wanted to do better.
Bill went
to bed when we got home, but I lingered in the glow of the Christmas tree. And
that night I told God I wanted Christ to be Lord of my life. And God gave me
the best gift of all. His peace.
Don’t get
me wrong. I had grown up in a Christian home. My parents prayed with us and
took us to church—faithfully! I had gone through confirmation, and I took
seriously the profession I made before the congregation that I believed in
Jesus as my Savior. And I did. As much as my teenage mind could comprehend. But
I couldn’t quite comprehend why Jesus had to suffer and die. Couldn’t God have
worked out our salvation some other way?
Now I was
an adult, 30 years old, and I felt I needed to take my faith to a deeper level.
I finally had come to understand that God is perfect and no imperfection can
come into His Presence. I knew I was not perfect. I needed a Savior. An
Advocate. So I told the Lord that I accepted Jesus as my Savior. And it was as
though a Hand slipped into the glove of my life. That’s how I once heard the
experience described by Max Lucado. And it certainly was true for me.
That Hand
is the Holy Spirit, and He immediately began pointing out to me areas of my
life that needed some work. For instance, (although I hate to admit this) when
I was unhappy with Bill I gave him the silent treatment. It didn’t matter if I
tossed and turned a whole night from being in a snit. I held out as long as I
could.
But after
that Christmas, we disagreed about something. I no longer remember what. But I
knew—I knew—it would be wrong to give Bill the silent treatment. However, I
wasn’t ready to talk. So I went to the kitchen and baked a cake.
In those
days you started from “scratch,” so I had to measure the flour and the sugar,
etc. By the time I had the cake in the oven, I was ready to go to Bill and say
“Can we talk.”
I won’t say
we never again had a spat (fortunately, Bill loves to eat cake!), but I never
again tossed and turned a whole night because I was too stubborn to talk.
That’s just one example of how the Spirit works. He gives you a sensitive
conscience.
He also
gives you a desire to learn and grow as a Christian. I’m 80, and I’m still
reading my Bible and looking things up and praying and applying God’s teachings
to my life. There’s always more to learn. If
I dare to think I know it all, something pops up that reminds me I’m not as
good as I thought I was. Just like that, the Lord hands me another issue with
which to grabble.
God also gives you a desire to serve that’s just right for your age and stage. Right now my service consists of posting daily devotional thoughts on Friends of the Heart and my personal Facebook pages. “Tune in” daily if you want to follow my journey of reading through the Bible.
So what about
you? Have you allowed God to be the Hand in the glove of your life? Or are you
holding Him at arm’s length? Are you worried He might require you to deal with
an issue you’ve struggled with? Might require you to go to Africa? (I did worry
about that a bit.)
Well, do not
fear. God loves us as a mother loves her baby. “Can a mother forget the baby at
her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may
forget, I will not forget you” (Isaiah 49:15 NIV). God nurtures us and wants what’s
best for us. He never requires something of us that He does not give us a real heart’s
desire to do.
So sit by
your Christmas tree tonight. By the twinkling lights, search your soul. Ponder
your relationship. Maybe you need to ask forgiveness. Maybe you need to commit
to learning more about God in the upcoming year. Maybe you need to ponder what
Christ has done for you. No matter how near or how far you feel, take a step
toward that Christ lying in the manger. And God will surely offer you the best
gift of all: His peace. For now and for all eternity.
No comments:
Post a Comment