A Christmas Carol Stave 5, Christmas Eve

My deepest sympathy is for the men and women who live without a dream, people like that don’t live, they simply exist. The farthest they can see is the end of the day, and their goal is to just make it through until tomorrow. But the world is changed by men and women who can see beyond the immediate, who can see beyond the today and over the horizon of the here and now to tomorrow.

It was George Bernard Shaw who said "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."

The unreasonable man is the man with the dream, the man who has a dream and a hope in tomorrow. I believe that when the magi shared their dreams and their hopes for the journey with their friends and family that they were criticized for being unreasonable.

It has been said that castles in the air are built by psychotics, occupied by neurotics and the rent is collected by psychologists. But I disagree, I believe that castles in the air are built by dreamers and that ultimately the future belongs to the dreamers.

Every man and every woman need a dream, every pastor needs a dream, and every church needs a dream. The hopes and dreams that only God can give add the sparks that set your life afire.

And the dreams that God has given me for Cornerstone is what makes my ministry an adventure, a scary adventure sometimes but an adventure never the less. The Magi had the assurance that God had indeed given them the dreams when they peered into the cradle and into the eyes of God.

And Because of Christmas their Love was Rekindled When the Magi deliberately deceived Herod by bypassing him on their way home they put their lives in danger, but they did it out of the greatest motivation that exists and that is love. Whether it was the actions of the Magi crossing the desert, presenting their gifts to God or protecting the Christ child, the contributing factor on the first Christmas was love.

How fitting that Jesus Christ, the very essence of love, would prompt so much love during his first days on earth. The greatest weapon in the arsenal of God is love, love for Wesleyans, love for Baptists, love for Pentecostals, Presbyterians, Anglicans, Catholics, Mormons, Hindus, Buddhists, and Moslems and nothintarians. The Love that God gives us can stand all rebuke, it can stand all persecution and all judgement.

Jesus Christ said in John 13:35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” And in saying that he could have said your lack of love for one another will prove to the world that you are not my disciples. If Cornerstone is going to exercise the faith that God has given us, and if we are going to see the dreams that God has given us, then we are going to have to practice that love that God has given us.

What gifts will you receive this Christmas? Will you leave Christmas just as you arrived except for 3 pair of new socks, 2 ugly ties, 4 fruit cakes and a soap on a rope? My wish for you is that you will leave Christmas 2018 with your faith fulfilled, your hope more surely founded, and your love rekindled.