12-13-98 The Best Gift of All is Jesus. Luke 1
by Ronald E. George Jr. at the Sand Fork Baptist Church
What gift should you give to your loved ones this Christmas? What is the best thing you could get for them this Christmas?
"A few years ago at this time I was preparing to leave after Christmas for a preaching mission to the Fiji Islands. In preparation, I read some accounts of missionaries who had invested their lives in the South Pacific. One powerful story comes from a missionary to the head-hunting Sawis of Indonesia. He sat in a "manhouse" and told them how God showed Himself to all peoples in Jesus. They yawned and grew restless. However, when he told them about the betrayal of Jesus by Judas, they leaned forward and became interested. As they heard that a kiss, a sign of affection, was the means of betrayal, their eyes sparkled with amazement and respect. But their admiration was for JUDAS, not Jesus, for to these primitive cannibals, DECEIT and BETRAYAL were the highest virtues. The missionary saw it as his mission to try to overcome generations of cultural conditioning so that these people's thinking might be reversed. He persuaded three tribes that were natural enemies to move fairly close together so that he might have access to them. While they were reluctant, they did so because the missionary provided them with tools and medicine. As tension mounted among the tribes, the hostility became so great that he called the "headmen" together and told the tribes to disperse. He announced that he would have to go downstream and work among other people who could get along better. One morning the tribes gathered in an open place. The air was electric with tension. After a period of waiting, a warrior grabbed his nursing child from his anxious wife, ran to a former enemy and handed him the baby. The distraught mother pleaded with him not to do this. Then, abruptly, a warrior from the other side did the same thing. Aghast, the missionary asked what was happening. He was told that the tribes were exchanging a "peace child." As long as the children were unhurt, the tribes would live in peace. Shouts of joy broke out. People began to dance. The peace child made it possible for the tribes to live together without fear. A new era had been born. The missionary finally had an analogy for God's love. He now told the warriors that Jesus was God's "Peace Child!" God did not want to give up His Son to hostile people, but because of His love, He sent a peace child to live among them. The Sawis now heard the story of Jesus with new interest. If Jesus was a Peace Child, it was wrong to betray Him. Judas was no longer a hero. It was a new day for the Sawis.
It was a new day for our world when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. He brought a whole new set of values. He became God's Peace Child in a darkened world. He still seeks to bring peace to our world. World peace begins in our own heart! Let us point others to the Peace Child of Bethlehem!"
Ernie Nivens, Tranquil United Methodist
Scripture Text:
Luke 1:45 (KJV) And blessed [is] she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. 46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, 47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. 48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. 49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy [is] his name. 50 And his mercy [is] on them that fear him from generation to generation.
Mary was given a gift from God.
We have been given a gift from God.
Would you give the best that you can afford this Christmas? Would you give God’s free gift of his son? Would you receive him today? Would you give him away?