Good Morning!
Merry Day-After Christmas –
It is a day where …
You can grab up some deals 50—60% off what it was selling for
three days ago
You can start to recover from the holiday treats and meals
And it is often a time for GIFT EXCHANGES
I am on my way to work – unfortunately & fortunately
Unfortunate that I must go; but fortunate that I have employment
We must count our blessings at all times.
In any event –
Being short on time, I decided to pull a post from the vault.
I wrote this post a while back but I think it bears repeating
THE EXCHANGE
originally posted December 2010
Yesterday
was fantastic!
Now today
is here
The day after
Christmas and typically the biggest day for returns.
Today is the day where
people will spend time standing in long lines
To return
or exchange the gift
That someone else spent
time searching for and standing in line to get.
It is the day when the
stores suddenly decide
that what you paid
thirty-dollars for last week
is now worth eight dollars
and fifty cents.
They have to move the
inventory,
clear the shelves and get
ready for the next big merchandising event –
uh, I mean holiday.
Sadly, however, material
gifts will not be the only thing exchanged today.
Many also
will return/exchange the gift of the Christmas season:
- Connecting with friends
and family
- Thinking of others
- Sacrificing to give to
others
- Listening to uplifting
music
- Indulging in sweet treats
- Enjoying fun-filled
gatherings
They
reject and/or put away the season
and many of the
things that are enjoyable about it.
Some do
it boldly as they always have.
And, while I do not agree
with their sentiment,
I do respect their honesty.
Others do
it quietly, returning the gift of the Christmas season discreetly.
They hope that no one will
see or notice –
just like they hope that
they will not run into Aunt Wilma at the mall
as they return the
sweater that she gave them.
They put
down peace and pick-up worry.
They go
back into self-preservation mode rather than embracing
selflessness.
They count it a blessings
that they will not have to see certain relatives again until next year –
not realizing that this
might have been the last Christmas they would have to spend with them.
They box it all up, bag it
all up, stuff it all away and boldly declare,
‘Thank
God it’s finished!’
Yet, even
worse than returning a material gift,
or the gift of the
Christmas season,
is the
returning of the gift of Christ Himself.
However, there will be
those who unfortunately make that choice as well.
Christ
and Christianity do fit with their lifestyle
Scarlet is not
their color, although He wore it valiantly for us all.
Neither do they care for
the majestic hue of purple,
reminding us that He
did indeed arise,
overcame
death
and is
now seated on His heavenly throne
with unending rule
as LORD and King.
They
count the gesture of salvation as meaningless –
even though God ‘stood in
line’ orchestrating salvation throughout all the ages
(See Mt. 1:1-18 and Luke
3:23-38).
They
count the gift of salvation as worthless,
despite the tremendous
price which was paid.
How could
they?
Who would
render their own Child
as
payment for a gift
for
somebody else?
(See I Cor. 7:23)
But none of that matters.
To some
the gift will still be discarded.
However, they
cannot exchange it for something comparable in value –
There is
nothing that compares.
They
cannot get a refund –
Nothing
can match the price which was paid,
Not to mention, they did
not pay for it.
Any reimbursements would
need to be remitted to the Supreme Giver.
Best and
blessed
Are those who receive the
gift and hold onto it as precious
(Jn. 15:5, 7-8)
Worse
Are those who refuse the
gift altogether
(Jn. 15:6)
Worst
Are those who receive the
gift and then later return it
As if they somehow,
After tasting the
incomparable greatness of His glory,
Have now found something
more valuable, pleasurable and life-sustaining.
‘For if,
after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of
the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and
overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would
have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than
having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it
has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own
vomit [Prov. 26:11]” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the
mire.”’
(II Peter 2:20-22)
Refuse to give back or go back
If you
received Him this Christmas season –
For the
first time,
Do not
allow the enemy to steal back what was freely given and received.
(Mt. 13:20-21)
If you
received Him long ago –
Yet
realized this Christmas season that the Gift keeps on giving,
New revelation,
inexpressible peace and abounding joy
Do not
return by picking up the worries of the world.
(Mt. 4:18)
If you
have not received Him ever –
Never
realizing that One last special gift at the tree which has your name on it.
Recognize
that the gift of Jesus is yours today and all the goodness
which follows.
(Jn. 3:16)
REJECT RECEIVE RETURN REMAIN
The
choice is yours
Have a Blessed Day …
