Three weeks ago, we began a new series entitled: Batteries Not Included. There is nothing more frustrating than wanting play with your new toys and finding out the package had this hidden line - batteries not included.
We started this series by talking about the Hope, given in the understanding we are all created in God’s image and therefore worthy of his love, peace and joy so when your batteries run low this season, remember Jesus in breaking into our reality was the beginning of hope for us all. Then we talked about peace and shalom. The big idea was peace is not possible without an indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Finally, last week, we talked about joy and more directly, the idea joy comes as a fruit of the spirit and is not possible without first acknowledging what God has done for each of us through the sending of his Spirit to guide us all.
With that being said, today, I would like to open another gift of the Holy Spirit this holiday season: Love
Robert Fulghum in his book True Love, tells the story of George & Maggie. The staff and patients at the nursing home all felt sorry for George. His family had left him at the home, and they rarely ever visited. He became depressed and withdrawn, refusing to talk to anyone. He spent his days in silence. After a while, everyone gave up on trying to change George, and so they left him alone. (slide blank)
But one patient at the nursing home didn’t give up on George. Her name was Maggie. Maggie was a warm and vibrant person, a former vaudeville performer who loved to tell stories. Maggie visited George every day. She would sit in his room and talk all the while piecing together a lovely quilt. George never acknowledged her presence, but she kept up her visits anyway. Sadly, George never got to see Maggie’s finished quilt. As she was stitching the final pieces together, George passed away.
A member of the staff found an envelope from George, with instructions that it should be read after his death. Inside the envelope was a short note, reading – “Tell Maggie I love her.” If only George could have expressed this to Maggie sooner, for the quilt Maggie had been working on was a gift for George, because Maggie had fallen in love with him. Neither person had ever shared their true feelings with the other, missing out on an opportunity to experience each other’s love. And so the quilt Maggie had intended to give as a gift while George was alive, served as his burial shroud.
The sad story of George & Maggie, helps us to realize that though love was present and available and in some ways extended, it really remained hidden, and therefore, never personally experienced, becoming what it could have been.
In a similar way, God’s love must be experienced. Every year, we celebrate advent and Christmas with the dream that people will experience the love of Christ through the sharing of gifts, dinners, gatherings and the performing of rituals. And every year, we wonder if anyone experienced anything close to the love of Jesus. You see, you can hear about God’s love, know about it intellectually, talk about it, read about it, watch sermons on TV about it, understand it is available and present, but if it’s never personally experienced, it never becomes what God had intended for each of us.
Joseph Aldrich wrote in Gentle Persuasion, about the ministry of a husband and wife team he met from India, who were leading scores of international students, made up of Hindus and Moslems, to Christ. Aldrich could not understand how this couple were so effective reaching members of radically different cultural and religious traditions, but they were. So Joseph Aldrich asked them how they did it.
Each Sunday, the couple would host somewhere between 30 to 50 students for dinner. Meal time became a part of the strategy to break down barriers, and create an atmosphere of camaraderie and building friendships. So you talk about Christ at these meals?” asked Joseph Aldrich. “No, it is impossible to talk openly of Jesus Christ.” “So how, asked Aldrich, are you able to see so many find Christ?”
“We love them,” they replied, “until they ask us why.”
That’s the power of the unconditional love of God. It can cross barriers we never thought possible.
For there is a vast difference between being religious and having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. There is a vast difference between being a church-going person and a disciple of the Lord. Tertullian, who lived shortly after the Apostle Paul, said – “A man becomes a Christian; he is not born one.” That’s the difference between religion and Christianity. To become a Christian you need to decide to emulate God by jumping in and experiencing life as a Christian.
If you need a biblical example, just read today’s traditional scriptures of Mary’s decision to carry and birth our Savior. If you have a bible, turn to Luke 1:26-38
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[a] the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth, your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Mary willingly chose to submit and commit to an incredible request from a moment in which she felt loved/favored. The angel of God appears in her room. Let that sink in for a moment.
After the shock and awe of angel Gabriel in your room, how would you respond? Mary begins with a biology question. She thought she knew how the world works. The Angel Gabriel answers and even provides a prophetic message to assure her this visit happened. It was not a dream. Her relationship with God the father is as real as any in her life.
We say the words, ‘God loves you’ to people and never fully experience nor understand the far reaching implications. Mary’s submission creates a template for the rest of us who claim a relationship with God. When sent into active service, it's okay to ask the biology or physical questions pertaining to one's assignment all the while knowing God’s will is sovereign and he will suspend the natural laws to insure His perfect will comes to fruition.
In these last 5 days before Christmas, I challenge you to experience God by jumping into your relationship:. connect with Him through His Word by reading the gospel accounts of the birth, Journal your thoughts, Pray for His guidance and be overly generous with someone not expecting it. If asked why, please respond by acknowledging the love of the Lord for you and all His creation.
To learn more about the author, check out his biography at www.communitycenter.life/rev-bob-butler-info
