"The Bridge"

“The Bridge”

(Perhaps the most hectic time of the year is the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas. During these four or five weeks there’s so much to be done that it’s easy to lose sight of the significance of both days. In the next four essays I’m attempting to direct our thoughts from “holiday busyness” to “The Reason for the Season”. In these frenzied days let’s pray with David: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” {Psalm 19:14})

As we enter December we as a nation find ourselves between the two major “holidays” on the calendar. (In 2017 it’s 32 days.) The time leading up to Christmas is filled with activity but what’s my main emphasis? Is it shopping? Parties? Traveling? Eating (nah!)? All these things require planning on the heels of events surrounding Thanksgiving. How do we move from one to the other without losing our patience, focus and maybe our sanity?

God gives us the answer to this dilemma in 2 Corinthians 9:15 (KJV): “Thanks be unto our God for his unspeakable gift.” To me this represents the bridge between these times of recognizing His many blessings and His allowing His Son to take human form, identify with us and ultimately pay the price for our sin on the cross. We express our gratitude to Him for His provision and presence but the greatest thanksgiving is for the indescribable Gift of Jesus. This is the only place in the New Testament the Greek word, meaning literally not expoundable, is used. Fittingly, Bible Commentator Philip Hughes wrote, “…Human language is utterly inadequate to express…it.”

Some years ago Karen put these thoughts into music in a song called “God’s Gifts”:

   Thanks be unto our God for His unspeakable Gift—

   His Son, on whose Name we can call.

   For by grace we are saved, it is the gift of God.

   He bought us with a price, yes bought us all.

   Every good gift for us and every perfect one too

   Is from our Father up above.

   Our salvation is free through Jesus Christ our Lord.

   There isn’t any greater kind of love.

 

   He gave the gift of His love, the gift of His Son,

   The gift of redemption for my soul.

   His gifts are precious to me, they always will be.

   His gifts changed my life and made me whole.

 

 

Let Jesus be your Bridge during this Christmas season.

 

 

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan