As we write this, a soft snowfall is right on time for Christmas Eve. There is something so silent and pure about the first snow of the season. The crisp clean air is both invigorating and soothing. White drifts cover indiscriminately; making the drab winter earth beautiful. It reminds us of the analogy of Grace in Psalm 51:7: "...wash me, and I will be whiter than snow."
Here we are at the end of another year already! Next week, 2017 will be ushered out as 2018 comes sailing in. Now is the time we look back and reflect on the highs and lows; but most importantly, the lessons we learned. As imperfect image bearers of Christ, we regret the times we did not represent Him well. We give God glory for opportunities we thankfully didn't squander.
Our hope is that in 2018, we'll even more closely walk out the mandate of Ephesians 5; to "...be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma."
The Internet is buzzing with year-end recaps of every kind. Plenty of commentators are talking about what history was made (and is still being made) in 2017. From athletes & sports teams to election cycles; men and women everywhere proved their worth through commitment and hard work.
History is made by nations & leaders; people in positions of power who will be remembered for their good, evil, or indifference: the insignificant and the significant.
Regrettably, while there were many marked changes and triumphs in our own nation in 2017, there were also notable changes made that transform what was once known as a "shining city on a hill".
The Statue of Liberty is inscribed with the words: "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Those promises will now no longer be true for our many persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ who are part of the human tide that is the greatest refugee crisis in the history of the world.
Our free nation was founded by immigrants; developed by the manpower of immigrants, and cultured by history, art and literature of immigrants. The powers-that-be and a large segment of the population (that alarmingly includes many Christians) have thrown their weight behind the slowly closing door of freedom and safety for those who need it most.
In a me-first, wholly self-centered society, how quickly we forget that our lives are held in the hand of God. Our very breath is a gift from Him. The freedoms we enjoy as people with power, money and influence, have been given to us to bless others.
Matthew 24:12 "Because of increased lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold."
While arguments against admitting refugees appear to be well grounded on the surface, the term "fake news" coined earlier this year largely applies to way the migration crisis has been reported in the western world.
A threat of terrorism is virtually a non-issue since refugees undergo the most stringent vetting process in the United States (i.e. terrorists wouldn't attempt to enter the US as a refugee). Never in history has an act of terror been committed in the US by a refugee: let alone by a Syrian. Over half of the world's refugees are children under the age of 18. The majority of refugees seeking safety in the United States are women & families who need the safety and new start our land of opportunity can provide.
The "America First!" mantra has been a seeping poison into the hearts and minds of Christians across the Nation for years. This self-preservation has risen to a frenzied height that shockingly echoes from another dark era. It clouds our ability to make moral choices and eliminates compassion for humanity: all who were created in the image of God and who are loved by Him.
This isn't the first time our "beacon of hope" was snuffed out. Looking back, most of the immigrants denied entry to the United States during WWII tragically met their death at the hands of Soviets and Nazis. This list includes Anne Frank and her family who were denied refugee status and died in a German concentration camp. It should shake a slumbering self-centered culture back to the reality of where this new nationalistic climate can lead.
"For the LORD your God is God of gods and LORD of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing." - Deuteronomy 10:14
During this season, the world largely remembers a young family awakened in the middle of the night with horrifying news. Their ruler was slaughtering thousands of baby boys in hopes of cutting off the Messiah wrapped in the body of a newborn baby. The terror that couple must have felt as they quickly gather their things and fled, now refugees, on a long journey through the night to Egypt; not to return until this murderous King died years later.
The Bible doesn't say much about their time in Egypt, nor the years spent no doubt with Joseph working very hard to care for his family's needs with his Carpenter trade, while young Mary tried to assimilate as best she could with her young son into the new culture. Were they embraced with compassion or driven to the shadows of society? The Word tells us Jesus Christ has experienced every trial and tribulation we encounter on earth: of course He understands the plight of the refugee.
We look at our world and shake our heads, lamenting with Jeremiah in ch. 16; "They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, 'Peace, peace,' But there is no peace."
Thankfully we can trust the God of peace who is always with us... He knows the beginning to the end of 2018 and holds it all together in His omnipotent hands. With Him in charge, we have nothing to fear!!
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7
Our prayer for 2018 is that we will find a renewed sense of compassion to be the hands and feet of Jesus. That we realize when we stand before the Throne God will not ask what our nationality was on Earth; nor how well we looked to the interest of our own selves. What will matter is how much we poured out our lives for God's glory...
Matthew 25:34-40
“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
Wishing you a blessed New Year and a Merry Christmas that lasts throughout the whole of 2018!
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