by Max Lucado
God Sent a Savior
Christmas cards. Punctuated promises. Can I share words from my favorite Christmas cards?
“He became like us, so we could become like Him.”
“Angels still sing and the star still beckons.”
And from Isaiah 9, verse 6: “God has given a Son to us. His name will be Wonderful Counselor, Powerful God, and Prince of Peace.”
And my favorite: “If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. But since our greatest need was forgiveness, God sent us a Savior.” Merry Christmas, everybody.
Linger Near the Manger
Christianity was born in one big heavenly interruption. Just ask the Bethlehem shepherds. They had no expectations of excitement. These are sheep they’re watching. We count sheep to go to sleep! Shepherds, however, treasured the predictable. This was the night shift. Any excitement was bad excitement—wolves, lions, poachers. Just because they wanted a calm night, didn’t mean they would get it.
Luke says, “Then an angel of the Lord stood before them. The glory of the Lord shining around them, and they became very frightened.” We always assume the worst before we look for the best. Good thing the shepherds lingered. Otherwise they might have missed the second verse: “Today your Savior was born in the town of David. He is Christ the Lord.”
I hope you’ll do what the shepherds did—linger near the manger!
