A Non-Christmas Story

            An old story goes like this:

            Little Leroy went to his mother demanding a new bicycle. His mother decided that he should take a look at himself and the way he acted.

            She said, "Well, Leroy, it isn't Christmas and we don't have the money to just go out and buy you anything you want. So why don't you write a letter to Jesus and pray for one instead."

            After his temper tantrum, his mother sent him to his room. He finally sat down to write a letter to Jesus:

            Dear Jesus:

                        I've been a good boy this year and would appreciate a new bicycle.

                        Your Friend,

                        Leroy.

            Now, Leroy knew that Jesus really knew what kind of boy he was (he was a brat). So he ripped up the letter and decided to give it another try:

            Dear Jesus:

            I've been an OK boy this year and I want a new bicycle.

            Yours Truly,

            Leroy

            Well, Leroy knew this wasn't totally honest so he tore it up and tried again:

            Dear Jesus:

            I've thought about being a good boy this year and can I have a bicycle?

            Leroy

            Well, Leroy looked deep down in his heart, which by the way, was what his mother really wanted. He knew he had been terrible and was deserving of almost nothing. He crumpled up the letter, threw it in the trashcan and went running outside. He aimlessly wandered about depressed because of the way he treated his parents and was really considering his actions.

            He finally found himself in front of a Catholic Church. Leroy went inside and knelt down, looking around not knowing what he should really do.

            Leroy finally got up and began to walk out the door and was looking at all the statues. All of a sudden he grabbed a small one and ran out the door.

            He went home, hid it under his bed and wrote this letter:

           

            Jesus,

            I've got your mama. If you ever want to see her again, give me a bike.

            You know who.

            It is easy to jump on Leroy, but before we do, let us consider this: do we ever attempt to coerce Jesus to get what we want?

Dog Overboard!

                   I once read a story, perhaps apocryphal, about the king of Greece traveling to the United States several years ago—by ship.

                   Also on the ship was a gentleman who was bringing along a handsome dog. While they were crossing the ocean, the dog somehow fell overboard.

                   The owner begged the captain to stop the ship and rescue the dog. The captain refused. Considering the king was on board, the captain felt like the dog’s troubles were relatively unimportant.

                   Then, the dog’s owner asked the captain, “Would you stop the ship if it had been a man?!"

                   "Certainly!" the captain answered.

                   Straight away the dog’s owner threw himself overboard. The captain stopped the ship.

                   Ultimately, the human was rescued—and so was the dog. Such was the result of a man who loved a dog and identified with him so much, he was willing to risk his life.

                   Someone has written that is exactly what Jesus did for humans. Surely other beings in the spiritual world were asking 2000 years ago, “What is he doing?”… when Jesus abandoned heaven and entered into our world. Not only did Jesus risk his life, he surrendered his life—for people.

                   He did so because he loved people so much, and he identified with them.

Our Greatest Need

If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator;  

If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist;  

If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist;  

If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer;  

But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior. 

--Source unknown

It Cost

            As we enter the Christmas season, it’s good to be reminded how much cost was expended when Jesus entered into the world.

            I received the following a couple of decades ago. The author is unknown.

It Cost

            It cost Mary and Joseph the comforts of home during a long period of exile in Egypt to protect the little babe.

            It cost mothers, in and around Bethlehem, the massacre of their babies by the cruel order of Herod.

            It cost the shepherds the complacency of their shepherds’ life, with the call to the manger and to tell the good news.

            It cost the wise men a long journey and expensive gifts and changed lives.

            It cost the early Apostles and the early church persecution and sometimes death.

            It cost missionaries of Christ untold suffering and privation to spread the Good News.

            It cost Christian martyrs in all ages their lives for Christ’s sake.

            More than all this, it cost God the Father His own Son—He sent Him to the earth to save men.

            It cost Jesus a life of sacrifice and service, a death cruel and unmatched in history.