Why is this important? Well ... "Train up a child in the way he/she should go, and when he is old, he will remember it (Proverbs 22:6)." Or, "and we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18)." Here's the operative question. Are we a product of the priorities in which we are immersed? Do we look like the thing(s) in which we invest our time? If so, what do we look like? What is hatching us?
Last evening I spent a lot of time with our people, the Church here in Abbeville. It was Cantata night and the day was long and tiring, but fruitful. The Church in Abbeville came in to hear some beautiful music, the real story of Christmas, and it became an amalgamation I think would honor God. I wonder if these moments and times become "hatching" to both adults and children? The Word is proclaimed when someone sings "my soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior (Luke 1:46-47)." Mary is joyful for God bringing her out of obscurity and into a difficult journey of faith ... her faith and her attitude reflects her Savior, Jesus!
The other day Samson, my 23lb cat, did something he loves to do. He jumped on an Amazon box. I don't know whether he does this out of curiosity or whether he just loves to crush things, but you can be assured that the box collapsed like a cheap lawn chair in an NFL locker room. I wonder if this is why we have such an epidemic of mental health issues and narcissism, as our children and grandchildren bear the weight of a world in which they are at the center. "What can we do to "blow away" or kids at Christmas?" "How can I make Christmas memorable and epic?" "Where can we go to "crush it" in the holiday season?" And we DO crush it, as the box collapses and we, our children and our grandchildren find their spiritual house built on a cultural "house of cards."
Reginald Heber, Bishop of Calcutta, was an Anglican Priest in the early 1800's. He is best known for writhing a little song called, Holy, Holy, Holy (you might have heard it). In writing about the majesty and holiness of God, Heber wrote a lesser-known song that described both the shallowness and God's expectation of our devotion to God. It is called Brightest and Best. In the song, Heber writes ... "Say shall we yield Him, in costly devotion, odors of Edom and offerings divine, gems of the mountain and pearls of the ocean, myrrh of the forest, and gold from the mines ... vainly we offer each ample oblation, vainly with gifts would His favor secure, richer by far is the hearts adoration, dearer to God are the prayers of the poor." You will hear this song at our 9am service this Sunday!
We, our kids and our grandkids will become what "hatches" us. Will it be our willingness to invest in the struggle, the work, the time, the resources and the hearts adoration it takes to build His Church and His Kingdom ... or, will it be the "box" of sports, parties, stuff, frantic schedules and cultural emptiness? That "box" will get crushed when weight is added.
I invite you (really the entire community) to come, kneel, leave baggage and let God fill you up with His good things every Sunday and (at a very special hallelujah moment) at 6pm Christmas Eve. Invest some heart-felt adoration. Leave some gifts for the poor. Hear the testimony of God's word. Take in the music that speaks truth into the façade we encounter in culture. Let's hatch something that reflects the likeness of Jesus, who is both the babe in the cradle and the King of Kings! This Christmas let your soul magnify the Lord and let your spirit have joy in something worthwhile ... our Savior and the Church for which He will return! Randy
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