Opening the mailbox in December and finding a Christmas card from a friend or loved one brings cheer to our hearts.
Despite the present electronic versions of communication, receiving a paper greeting is more delightful. We have something we can hold and display for others to see—something to keep from year to year if we desire.
But a letter of greater importance than any sent from friends or families was broadcast on a hillside in Bethlehem to shepherds: “Behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy. The Savior has been born.” What report could be better than that?
The first Christmas card was dispatched from heaven when angels left the throne of God and brought glad tidings to men watching their sheep. Shepherds depended on their sheep for their livelihood. If something happened to their flock, they had no income. Yet they left the hillside in search of the One the angels had told them about because the story was so astounding.
The lifeline from heaven brought headlines that God’s anger at sin would be reconciled through the body of a little baby. The proclamation was that the Son of Man had been born through a bloody birth and would grow up and die a sacrificial bloody death as the Son of God. The gospel was the most incredible and loving announcement ever to be proclaimed.
The extraordinary broadcast has continued throughout the centuries and is a Christmas card we can keep forever, because the news never wears out, fades, gets old, or tears. After the holiday season, we put our paper greetings and decorations away, but we can display the story from heaven all year because the living Word abides in our hearts when we make Christ our Savior.
If you haven’t accepted this card in your heart’s mailbox, open yourself up today and let the eternal message be the best Christmas present you have ever received. God’s arms are reaching out, and He has sent His gift to you.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
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Barbara Latta’s desire is to help others find intimacy with God through a deeper understanding of the power of the Word. She writes a monthly column in her local newspaper and contributes to devotional websites and online magazines and has stories in several anthologies. She enjoys riding motorcycles with her husband. Their rides inspired her book, God’s Maps, Stories of Inspiration and Direction for Motorcycle Riders. Barbara’s blog can be found at www.barbaralatta.blogspot.com. She has two grown sons and one daughter-in-love and adores being Mimi to her granddaughter.