Newsletter Essay: December
As I sit in my office at the church I have been overcome by a sense of blessedness. We each have so much to be thankful for; not the least is the great church of which I am blest to be the pastor. I am blest because each one of you brings some of Christ into my life. You truly are the body of Christ with many gifts to share with this community and with each other.
The year is quickly drawing to an end. The church year already is at an end. On December 3 rd, we will begin the new church year as we enter into Advent. Advent is that time for preparation for the greatest Gift the world has ever known: the gift to us of a Savior.
Soon after we celebrate the birth of our Savior, we will turn back to the workaday world and the end of another year and the beginning of a new year. How have we done this year with our enjoying Christ and our growth in Christ? What will the New Year bring???
You and I have been programmed for growth in sincerity. Undying, forever love for Christ and others. We ask ourselves: Are we closer to being a “forever yours Christian today than we were a year ago? Are our relationships with others deeper, more caring and loving?”
What about our impact on the world around us? Are we involved now in serving people and in confronting and changing that which debilitates and dehumanizes people? Most of all, is our relationship with the Lord more vital, committed, empowered, and exciting than ever before?
It is easy to drift away from Christ when we lose our enthusiasm for what the Lord has prepared for us. The letter people read from our lives would have to be signed, “Very casually yours.” It is painful for me to think of a casual Christian. We become casual in so many things. Have you become casual in worship? In your relationship with Christ and others?
I for one want to be a letter of hope. I hope you will also want to be a letter of hope in a needy world. You see, when Christ takes up residence in us, we become His letter of hope to the world. We are a letter written by the Lord to the world saying, “Here’s a person who has received My grace and whose joy is an evidence of what it means to enjoy Me and eternal life. I’m forever yours, God.”
A new paragraph in this epistle is being written today. My prayer is, “Lord make today’s paragraph of my enjoyment of You even more exciting than yesterday’s. Thanks for creating me to know, love, serve, and enjoy You. And the wonder of it all, thanks for the privilege of knowing that through all the ups and downs of life, in spite of everything, I belong to You and can bring You enjoyment. That’s the joy of my life. Because of Your unchanging grace, I am forever yours!”
How will you sign your life today and at the end of this brief portion of eternity?