And this beautiful good news of great joy to all people is what we are called to proclaim to every nation, tribe, and tongue. That’s why we are so passionate about the Great Commission here at the Stone Table.
So, as you celebrate the Savior of the world that came for us this Christmas, don’t forget: marketplace skills are missionary skills. Merry Christmas from the Stone Table!
I’m an absolute sap at Christmas time—the music, the traditions, the lights, the movies, the food, the friends, and family. And if you’ve been around here at all over the past few years, you know I also love the direction of Christmas. Yes, Christmas moves in a specific direction, and that direction is this: God came for us.
One of my favorite verses is John 1:14, and this time of year I love to quote it in the Message paraphrase. It says, “The Word, that’s Jesus, became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood.”
You know, a lot of people have hijacked the Christian faith over the years. They’ve attached Jesus to movements of human power in politics. They’ve pitched Jesus as a self-help method or a get-rich-quick scheme. They sell Christianity as just another “climb your way up to God” world religion.
But Christmas, it blows all of those counterfeits right out of the water. You see, when sin broke our connection to God, God didn’t abandon us and say, “Ah, good luck,” and He didn’t look down on us and say, “Better start building that ladder and climb back up here.” Nope, God came for us. The Creator, the great story author, He wrote Himself into the narrative to save you and me. Jesus, God in the flesh, He came for us, and this is a miracle I do not want you to miss this holiday season.
This is what makes the Christian faith unique from every other world religion and secular self-improvement program. Christmas moves in a specific direction: our compassionate, loving God, not willing that any should perish but all would have eternal life. God became flesh, and He moved into the neighborhood. He crossed the divide that we could not bridge. God moved towards us. Jesus changes everything.
And this beautiful good news of great joy to all people is what we are called to proclaim to every nation, tribe, and tongue. That’s why we are so passionate about the Great Commission here at the Stone Table. So, as you celebrate the Savior of the world that came for us this Christmas, don’t forget the three-plus billion people across the world that have yet to hear that Jesus came for them too. Please join us in proclaiming that the Savior has come to rescue all the Earth.
So, Merry Christmas, my friends. When we couldn’t get to God, God came for us. May that joy fuel your Christmas celebrations this year. The Word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood. God bless and Merry Christmas from the Stone Table.
