Christmas… But Does it Matter?

And Christmas 2011 is past. Throughout the U.S. there was very little
snow, which for an old guy who was raised in central Wisconsin and saw
drifts over his head every winter and certainly at Christmas, a warm
(40 degrees plus) few days with zero snow was… well, not my choice
anyhow. But it didn’t matter.

For homeless people further in the northern areas of the nation it was a gift.

For many, shelters, food pantries and even gifts for kids and in some
cases, adults made things a tad easier. Homeless… but it didn’t
matter.

Plenty of people (some of them good friends of mine) suffered with
long-term and even unexpected illness and hospitalization over the
holidays… but God, family and care took at least some of the edge
off… so in the end it didn’t matter.

With such a tough economy and plenty of folks unemployed (again?) this
Christmas, many of us turned to giving gifts from things we have, or
hand-crafting things to share love and kindness as well as meet needs
of our loved ones. In the end, lack of money didn’t matter.

Lot’s of folks went (and are going through… as I’m writing December
26) the holidays feeling a deep sense of loss as a family member or
close friend has left this world through age, illness, accident, war
or other means. But it didn’t matter.

Well let’s get real: ALL of these things matter! They matter a great
deal to each of us and even more to God Himself.

THIS is why Jesus came.

But can you go just a bit further with me in these thoughts?

There is that sense of His presence and His reality that indeed means
in the end, HE matters more than my feelings, my sorrows, my pain,
even my deepest loss.

I don’t wish in -any- way to minimize or push aside the sometimes
overwhelming suffering in this life, not at all! And yet this too will
pass. All of it will pass. We, ourselves will pass… from glory to
Glory, from earth to heaven.

Just as Jesus came down and lived a suffering Servant life, so he was
raised up -and the suffering was absolutely horrible.

Just as we who believe, love Him supremely will suffer temptation,
certain affects of sin (our own and other’s) and in many cases tragic
events in this life, so we will be changed, raised up, made new,
enjoying the life of God in His literal presence with the entire
family of God before His throne.

Holidays pass. Everything in this life passes.

When we suffer loss and encounter pain, it matters. Then again, HE matters MORE.

The fact of our salvation by His mercy and kindness means the end is
certain- and it’s the best ending EVER!

I trust you had a Merry Christmas, but if you did not, and if your New
Year is less than a happy one, know this:

HE is what matters, and what HE says and will bring to pass is what matters:

Isaiah 35
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

6 Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for
joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.

7 The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling
springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay,

grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

8 And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not journey on it;
it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it.

9 No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get up on it;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,

10 and the ransomed of the Lord will return. They will enter Zion with
singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Revelation 21
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and
the first earth had passed away,
and there was no longer any sea.

2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven
from God, prepared as a bride beautifully
dressed for her husband.

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ???Now the dwelling
of God is with men, and he will live with them.
They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death
or mourning or crying or pain,
for the old order of things has passed away.???

5 He who was seated on the throne said, ???I am making everything new!???
Then he said, ???Write this down,
for these words are trustworthy and true.???

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy, worship and follow Jesus -and find peace! -Glenn