Did I get any mail? This is one of the most common questions we find ourselves asking. I suppose all of us like to receive mail. We all like someone say to us, “You’ve got mail.” There is something rewarding and exciting about receiving mail, even if it is junk mail. If nothing else it, lets us know that somebody somewhere knows about us. Somebody somewhere knows our name.
Many of us growing up can remember how excited we were when we received a letter. Most letters were addressed to our parents. But how excited we were when we received that letter addressed to us. How good it is to hear those words, “You’ve got mail.”
One of the best times in the armed forces other than chow time is mail call. At one time I was a mail clerk in the army. Any of us who were ever in any branch of the armed forces remember how happy we were to get a letter from home, and how disappointed we were when we didn’t receive a letter. Many times a soldier would say to me, “Did I get any mail, Sgt. Taylor?” How good it was to be able to say to him, “You’ve got mail.”
If you are away from home for any reason, on a job, at college, or whatever, how you long to get a letter from home. We all like to receive mail. And even now with the rise of E-mail, we like to receive an e-mail from someone. There are even some computers which will let you know when you have received an e-mail. The computer will tell you in some way that you’ve got mail. In fact there was a movie some years ago with the title, “You’ve got mail.”
Although many people now receive checks sent directly to their banks, many who do receive SS or pensions checks know how anxiously they wait for the mailman on the days when the checks are due. Around the first of the month when many checks were due the mailman was the most popular person on the street. Some people even got mad with the mailman if there was no mail for them. I’ve seen people stop the mailman on the street and ask him if there is any mail for so and so.
Have you ever been waiting for any important letter? Maybe you were waiting to hear from an employer that he had hired you. Or maybe you waited to hear from a college that you had been accepted. Or maybe you were just waiting for a letter from a sweetheart. How good it was to find out that you had mail.
And even in our day when we have E-mail, fax machines, telegrams, telephone, and TV, the postal serve is still the most popular way of getting a message from here to there. Many people don’t have access to e-mail or some of these other means of communication. But there is always the mailman putting mail in your mail box or slot. How we love to hear that we’ve got mail.
I am amazed that of all the millions of pieces of mail handed each day by the postal service how very few of it is lost. The mail always seems to get through somehow. From time immemorial people have sought to get messages to each other. As long ago as 3000 B.C., fast couriers or runners memorized messages and carried them for their rulers. In those days there was no demand for a postal service since few people could read or write. Early letters were carved on clay or bronze. Later they were written on the skins of animals or a vegetable material called papyrus. Most of the Bible was written on papyrus. The Persians had a vast postal system that stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to India, a distance of over 1600 miles. They erected relay stations for the swift transfer of men and horses every 14 miles, and so speedy were the couriers who carried the messages that they could travel the distance in a week. That famous expression which is inscribed on the front of the post office in New York city saying, “neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds,” dates back to the days of Persia. Our modern day courier the mailmen and women are still making their appointed rounds despite wind, rain, snow, sleet, or heat of day. They are determined to see that you get your mail. They want you to be able to say, “I’ve got mail.”
The mailmen and women who deliver the mail are backed up by hundreds of other postal employees, clerks, mail handlers, inspectors, drivers, watchmen, supervisors, dispatchers, all dedicated to getting your mail to you. The bottom line is to get messages from here to there, from me to you. The concern of the postal service is dedicated to getting your mail to you. If you’ve got mail, the postal service is dedicated to getting it to you.
But God’s concern also was how to get a message through to His people. Our text in Hebrews 1:1,2 says that God revealed himself. God got a message through some how to His people. God had a message to send to His people. He spoke through the prophets. The prophets were spokespeople for God. They were His messengers. They carried messages or mail from the Lord. You might say that God set up his own postal service. Every now and then God would send a message to His people. God used different couriers or messengers or mailpersons to get His messages across to the people. These messengers or mailpersons let the people know that they had mail from God. It was like receiving a letter from the post office of heaven. God had mail for His people.
But He never sent the whole letter at once. God spoke to the people in fragments. Each one of the mailmen got a fragment or a part of the letter. God couldn’t tell everything at once. People would not be able to digest it. You don’t tell a child everything at one time. Your child asks you a question and you answer with what that child can understand at that time. You wouldn’t give a 5 year old child as much information as you would a 15 year old child. God sent mail at various times to his people. But he only sent part of the letter each time. The people got mail from God, but each prophet or mailman had a different part of the letter.
The people got mail from Elijah saying that God alone is worthy to receive worship. The people got mail from Amos that God called for “justice to roll down like water, and righteousness like never ending stream.” The people got mail from Micah declaring the reign of God both in judgment and in promise. Over and over again the people got mail from God. The people got mail from Hosea proclaiming the steadfast love of God even to those who had been unfaithful to Him. The people got mail from Jeremiah who spoke about a new covenant written on the pages of human hearts. The people got mail from Ezekiel declaring that everybody is responsible for his own sins. The people couldn’t say that they didn’t get mail from God. The prophets of old let them know that you’ve got mail from God. The people received mail from God to let them know something about his purpose for humankind.
But then the time came when God decided to communicate with humankind by a new mailman. The time came when God was ready to send the entire letter to humankind, not in bits and pieces, but the whole letter. The time came when God chose to reveal himself in much clearer terms. God wanted to send the whole message to the whole world. God wanted to let everybody know that they’ve got mail. God wanted to let the whole world know that he was a God of justice as well as a God of love. God wanted the whole world to know that he was righteous as well as holy. God wanted the whole world to know that he was the God of the nations as well as the God of Israel. God wanted to let the whole world know that he is a God of grace as well as a God of mercy. God sent another mailman to let the whole world know that you’ve got mail.
Our text says in these days God has spoken to us by his son. We’ve got mail. We’ve got some new mail from God. That’s what the Advent and Christmas season is all about. We’ve got new mail from a new mailman. In this season when our minds are focused on Christmas mail and seasonal giving, when our minds are focused on Christmas cards and holiday packages, when we are concerned about buying stamps and sending gifts, when we look for that package or letter from a distant place let us consider that we have mail from God. God has spoken to us by his son. Jesus is God’s mailman. God had to send a special mailman to deliver a special message.
His message was so important that He couldn’t trust it with an angel or a prophet. God brought the mail himself. The letter became the mailman and the mailman became the letter. God’s mail became incarnate in human flesh. The message was too important just to be read. It had to be acted out. It became a living letter. God came in the form of Jesus Christ and demonstrated who he was. God came as a living letter to the world to show what he was like. Jesus Christ was a living letter from God. We’ve got mail from God through Jesus Christ.
Jesus showed us who God was. He showed us that God was love. We’ve got mail. He loved us so much that He died on the cross for the sins of the world. Jesus Christ showed us that God is merciful. He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, restored hearing to the deaf, put activity into inactive limbs, exorcised demons, and fed the hungry multitudes.
God’s mail through Jesus Christ showed us that God is forgiving. Even as Jesus was nailed to the cross, he cried out to God to forgive them because they knew not what they were doing. Jesus Christ showed us that God is holy. He withstood the temptations of Satan in the wilderness. Jesus Christ showed us that God is righteous. Even Pilate could find no fault in Jesus.
Jesus Christ showed us that God is patient. He endured the suffering of the cross. He was falsely accused. He was spat upon. He was abused. Yet He did not fight back. “He gave His back to the smiters and His cheek to those who pulled out his beard. He hid not His face from shame and spitting. He was despised and rejected of men. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” Yet in all of this he did not murmur or complain and he said not a mumbling world.
We’ve got the whole letter from God now. We’ve got mail showing us what God is all about. Jesus was the mailman and the mail rolled up into one. God spoke by the prophets, the mailmen of old. But now God has spoken to us by a new mailman, Jesus Christ, the mailman for this age.
The mailmen of old spoke to the nation of Israel. But God’s new mail brings the living letter of God to every nation. The mailmen of old spoke to people as a whole, but God’s new mail brings the living letter to everybody, including you and me. We’ve got mail. We have a personal letter from God to each of us.
But the thing about this mailman is that he not only came once upon a time and split BC from AD, but this mailman brings daily mail to you from God. You’ve got mail. He still comes around to your house and my house everyday with mail from God. He always makes his rounds. Nothing can hinder him from coming around to see about you and to let you know that you have mail from God.
The mail people pride themselves in making their round under all kinds of circumstances, rain, snow, heat, cold, and wind. But I’ve seen the weather so bad that not even the mailman could come around that day. Sometimes it even gets too rough for the mailman. But Jesus always makes his daily rounds with mail to you from God. You’ve got mail. The weather is never too bad for Him. It’s never too hot. It’s never too cold. It never rains or snows too hard. He comes around every day saying you’ve got mail from God.
Sometimes your regular mailman goes on vacation and you have a substitute mailman. But God’s mailman never takes a vacation. He never sends a substitute. Because no one else will do you like Jesus. God’s mailman always makes his rounds. He is never too tired. Never too sleepy. Never sick. God’s mailman always makes his round with your mail from God. You’ve got mail.
Sometimes the mailman makes a mistake and gives you somebody else’s mail and puts your mail in somebody else’s house. But God’s mailman never makes a mistake. He knows just what message you need for that day. The message is personalized. It’s just for you. God’s mailman is too wise to make a mistake and too exact to make an error. He makes sure you get your mail for that day.
Sometimes the mailman is late with the mail. We may be expecting a check or a special letter and we wait and wait for the mailman. But he is late that day. A couple of weeks ago we got mail about 5 o’clock. Sometimes just when you want your mail the most, it is late that day. But Jesus, God’s mailman, is always on time. He is never late. He comes by at the right moment. Just when you need Him He is there to comfort and cheer. Just when you need him most. He may not come when you think he should be He is always on time. He comes on His time schedule but he is never late with your mail from God.
Then the mailman only comes around 6 days a week. There is no delivery on Sundays or holidays. There was some talk about discontinuing Saturday service. But God’s mailman stops by every day. “Morning by morning new mercies we see. Great is His faithfulness.” He stops by every day with the mail of love and mercy from God. We’ve got mail.
Then no matter how careful the postal workers are, some letters get lost in the mail. Some mail gets lost. But God’s mail never gets lost. God guarantees that His message will be delivered to you by His mailman. Jesus Christ never lost a letter yet. He has a 100% delivery rate. God’s mail always gets through.
Then few of us get to know our mailpersons. They stop long enough to put the mail in the slot. Sometimes we may exchange greetings. But he can’t stop and talk too long because he has other stops to make. But God’s mailman always has time to stop awhile. You can have a little talk with God’s mailman. He has time to see about you. He walks and He talks with us and tells us we are his own. And just a little talk with the mailman makes every thing alright.
And then sometimes the mailman passes our door because he has no mail for you that day. Some days there is no mail. But God’s mailman always stops by. He always has a message from God. He will not pass you by. While on others he is calling, he will not pass you by. We’ve got mail.
Sometimes the mailman leaves a lot of junk mail. We get a lot of junk mail. Even on the internet on your computer there is a line for junk mail. It seems as if everybody in the country has your name on some kind of list. We get catalogs, announcements, advertisements, solicitations, invitations, sweepstake contests, and on and on, a whole lot of junk mail. Sometimes we throw it in the trash can without even opening it because we know it’s nothing but junk mail. On our computers we can delete the junk mail. But God’s mailman doesn’t carry any junk mail. When you get mail from God he has something good for you. God doesn’t deal with junk mail. God has promised good to us. “His word my hope secure. He will my portion and shield be as long as life shall last.” God doesn’t deal with junk. We’ve got mail from God.
But let’s examine the mail God sends you every day. We’ve got mail. It’s wrapped up in the envelope of mercy. We’ve got mail. It’s sealed by the power of the Holy Spirit. We’ve got mail. It’s postmarked in the post office of heaven. We’ve got mail. Its stamp is paid for on the cross of Calvary and cancelled by the blood of the lamb. We’ve got mail. Its return address is the great white throne of glory. It’s dated for time and eternity. We’ve got mail. It’s addressed to whosoever will open it up. But its contents are just for you. We’ve got mail. It’s addressed to your need because God knows what you need before you even ask. We’ve got mail.
Why don’t you open up your mail? Don’t let it be returned to the sender unopened. We’ve got mail. Don’t let it wind up in the dead letter office. We’ve got mail. Open up your mail and see what God has for you today.
But after you open up your mail you must read it in order for it to do you any good. It’s a message that fits your case. If you are feeling blue it says, “wait on the Lord and you shall renew your strength.” If you are discouraged it says, “the Lord is your shepherd you shall not want.” If you are fearful it says, ”the Lord is the strength of your life what shall you fear.” If you are tired and weary it says, “come unto me all who labor and are heaven laden and I will give you rest.” If you are in confusion it says, “my peace I give to you.” If you are weak it says, “my strength is made perfect in your weakness.” If you are in sorrow it says, “God shall wipe all tears from your weeping eyes.” If you are lonely it says, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” If you don’t know which way to go it says, “all the way from earth to glory I will guide you with my eye.” If you feel like you can’t go on anymore it says, “hold on to God’s unchanging hand.” If you feel like you are falling it says, “underneath are my everlasting arms.” If you have lost hope it says, “your hope is built on Jesus’ blood and righteousness.”
You’ve got mail. Why don’t you open your mail and see what message God is sending to you? You’ve got mail. Take time to read your mail. God has a message just for you. Thank God we’ve got mail.
Hebrews 1:2 says that in these last days God has spoken to us by his Son. That means we’ve got mail from heaven. That’s why we celebrate the Advent and Christmas season. We’ve got mail.
God in the past spoke to us through the prophets. God spoke to us in various ways in time past. But now in these days God has spoken to us by His son. Jesus Christ is the mailman for our day.
Thank God we’ve got mail. You’ve got mail. Joy to the world the Lord has come. We’ve got mail. Thank God this season you’ve got mail. In these last days God has spoken to us by his son. God has some mail for you. Open your mail. Read your mail. You’ve got mail. If you don’t get a single Christmas card or package this Christmas, you’ve still got mail from God. Thank God that you’ve got mail.
Then one last thing. Many times our mail is private. We don’t share our mail with anyone else. Our mail is a private affair. But while God’s mail is just for you he wants you to share it with others. Let everybody read your mail. You’ve got mail.
Thank God we’ve all got mail. If someone were to ask you if you have mail, you can say, “I’ve got mail.” You can tell somebody, “I heard from heaven today, and do you know what? It’s good news! Everything is going to be alright. I can hold on a little while longer!”
That’s the good news of Christmas. Thank God, we’ve got mail!
