Experience

"He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:11-14 NKJ)

To truly understand the pain of rejection, one must experience it. How tragic it is to be rejected by one's family; by those who have the same DNA, the same culture, the same beliefs; by those who are in every way like you. But the real tragedy is that the "rejecters" do not experience the rejected.

Think about it . . . to know the vivid, details of a personal relationship. To experience the joys and sorrows involved. To be able to say, "I know him/her." To know the emotion and exhilaration of your life impacted by a person. And to consider what your life would have been had that person not been a part of it.

This personal experience is what Christmas is about. God came to us so that we could experience him personally, rather than merely hearing or reading about God.  This is what faith in his name is about. This is what the blood birth is about. This is why "the right to become the children of God" came by the will of God and not by human will.

In this Christmas season, we can experience Christ or we can merely look at the decorations and hear about the festivities. Believe me, it is not the same! There is a difference between receiving a gift and listening to others tell about their gift.

The baby in the manger is God who became flesh and dwelt among us. He is grace and truth personified. He is "the only begotten of the Father." He came to earth so that we can experience his glory and be saved from eternal damnation.

Gifts come in many forms. They are not all in boxes tied with pretty bows. Our greatest gift arrived in an undecorated stable and went to an ugly cross, but he filled all the requirements of love. He experienced the punishment that we might experience his grace and truth. Oh the joy of that experience!

Dear Father, thank you for your gift of love to mankind. Enable us to truly experience your gift in Christ. I pray this in the name of Jesus. AMEN

Experience Christ today,