YOU COME TO ME
Jimmy, and his son, Davey, were playing in the ocean down in Mexico, while his family -- his wife, daughters, parents, and a cousin -- were on the beach. Suddenly, a rogue riptide swept Davey out to the sea. Immediately Jimmy started to do whatever he could to help Davey get back to the shore, but he, too, was soon swept away in the tide. He knew that in a few minutes, both he and Davey would drown. He tried to scream, but his family couldn't hear him.
Jimmy's a strong guy--an Olympic decathlete--but he was powerless in this situation. As he was carried along by the water, he had a single, chilling thought: My wife and my daughters are going to have to have a double funeral.
Meanwhile, his cousin, who understood something about the ocean, saw what was happening. He walked out into the water where he knew there was a sandbar. He had learned that if you try to fight a riptide, you will die. So, he walked to the sandbar, stood as close as he could get to Jimmy and Davey, and then he just lifted his hand up and said, "You come to me. You come to me." (John Ortberg, in the sermon, The Way of Wisdom)
That's Christ's invitation to us: "Come to me and you will live!" If we go the way our gut tells us, we will die, but if we trust the one who died for us and rose again, we will live forever with Him in Heaven. Accept God's gift to you this Christmas, and accept life instead of death.
(From a sermon by C. Philip Green, The Father's Gift, 12/16/2010)