Well, the Christmas hustle and bustle is over and we have started the New Year. Some people will be making New Year resolutions. I hope you found time to slow down and celebrate Jesus' birth, not just celebrate but ponder in your heart who He is. He was born a real man and walked this earth, so we would know true love and freedom.
I read this right before Christmas and it moved me to tears, the words hit my heart after a crazy day. It slowed my mind down and gave me comfort.
One Solitary Life
There was a man born of Jewish parents in an obscure village. He grew up in another obscure village. He worked in a carpenter shop until he was thirty,
and then for 3 years He was an itinerant preacher.
He never wrote a book He never held an office
He never owned a home
He never had a family He never went to college He never visited a big city He never traveled more than two hundred miles from the place where He was born. He did none of the things usually associated with greatness
While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against Him.
His friends ran away from Him.
He was turned over to His enemies, and went through the mockery of a trial.
His executioners gambled for the only property He had on earth – His coat.
When He was dead, He was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave.
All the armies that have ever marched All the navies that have ever sailed All the parliaments that have ever sat All the kings that ever reigned
Put together Have not affected the life of mankind on earth As powerfully as this one solitary life.
by Dr James Allan Francis in “The Real Jesus and Other Sermons” © 1926 by the Judson Press of Philadelphia (pp 123-124 titled “Arise Sir Knight!”).
At Christmas time, Christians tend to focus more on Jesus. We talk about Jesus being the wonderful gift to our world and how much we should love Jesus. Then the months move on and we get busy, lives return to routine. Soon we are planning our summer vacation.
My resolution this year is to remember the one solitary life that was given for me, and changed my life. What are you New Year's resolutions?