Bible Society of South Africa
Hennie Symington

Change, Advent and Christmas – Day 10

An incomparable treasure

Um(Imi)bhalo weBhayibheli

1 kwabaseKorinte 2

7Kodwa sikhuluma ukuhlakanipha kukaNkulunkulu emfihlakalweni efihliweyo uNkulunkulu akumisela ngaphambili kube yinkazimulo yethu, kusukela kwaphakade,

1 kwabaseKorinte 2:7ZUL59NOVula kumfundi weBhayibheli

What do you do when you’re tired of the whole Christmas thing long before Christmas day? Where do you go when you’ve had enough of the eating and drinking, while your soul is dying of thirst and the excessive shopping for extravagant gifts, in the name of someone who was born in a humble stable more than two thousand years ago irks you even if you go along with it?

 

You can’t help thinking: this is not what God had in mind when he launched the biggest rescue plan in the history of mankind, when he sent his Son to be born here on earth. It couldn’t have been easy for him to suffer the pains of birth and to dwell amongst us in a sinful world, which had no inkling of what it must have been like for the Messiah to renounce his heavenly glory to live like one of us.

Truly, God who became human is not just the focus of a single day of jollity and celebration. It is the greatest miracle ever – greater than a landing on Mars or any rock star’s performance. It is nothing less than a once off, immense and mind-blowing event that changed the course not only of history, but the lives of billions of people, including your own. So, let us vow to cherish the manger in our hearts for next year and the one after that. Let us look beyond the here and now to eternity, where God has already prepared a new heaven and a new earth for us, with the Son sitting at his right hand.

Ok, let’s try again. Christmas is coming and you cannot keep it to yourself. Your heart is beating the drum to a joyful tune sung by a heavenly host: “Joy to the world, the Lord has come! Let earth receive her king …!”

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