What If?

“But when the fullness of time had come,  God sent forth His Son...”
Galatians 4:4

I recently read a portion of a very interesting book called “If – Or History Rewritten” where a group of historians asked some “what if” questions such as, “What if Robert E. Lee had not lost the Battle of Gettysburg? What if Booth had missed when he shot at Abraham Lincoln? What if Napoleon had escaped to America?”

They attempt to reconstruct the past on the basis of these “what ifs” as historians playing the ultimate game. But let’s apply the greatest “what if” to the greatest event in history –  the birth of Jesus Christ!

Such a “what if” really does stagger the mind. It is like imagining the earth without a sunrise, the heavens without stars, life without love, or a day without light. Yet this “what if” must be taken seriously, especially at Christmas, because our world is becoming oblivious to the true meaning of Christ’s coming. Can you imagine what the world would be like without Christ? What would history have been without Him?

And on a personal level, what would each of our lives be like without Him? That’s scary! Thank God that there are no “what ifs” in God’s history. Aren’t you glad that God did not wait for an invitation from a committee of humans to come to our planet? Aren’t you glad that God didn’t wait for the U.S. Congress to act on it? I think we would still be waiting for His coming!

Let’s remember that Jesus took the initiative, as the great Intruder, to come to earth at just the right time in history to be clothed with humanity, to mingle with humanity, to teach humanity, and die for humanity to save it from the rot and ruin of sin. James Edwards echoes this thought in his book The Divine Intruder: “God breaks into this world, even when He is unexpected and unwelcome. God joins us in our weakest and worst moments. There is a Divine Intruder among us.”

The above verse captures the essence of our celebration of the birth of Jesus. Just when we thought we were alone in the world, Christ came to declare God’s love for us. Not only did God send His Son into the world at exactly the right time, but He also demonstrated “His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). That’s the message of Christmas that opens the door to a fulfilled life and the joy that comes from experiencing Christ’s love.

Have you received the gift of eternal life that He offers? Let me ask it this way, "what if" you miss the greatest gift ever given to humanity?

Merry Christmas,

Pastor Dave