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December 24 It’s
a cold, snowy Christmas Eve but I hardly remember a time when I felt warmer in
my soul. Vera has spent part of the day with us, celebrating the season,
feasting on turkey (and nibbling carefully on carp), and exchanging presents as
a sign of our deepening friendship. The best part of the evening, however, was near the end when she smiled and said, “I have some very important news to share with you. I want to give my life to Christ, to be buried with him in baptism, so that I might experience his resurrection both now and when he returns.” We hardly knew what to say. We had been praying for Vera since we first met, though I have to admit for a long time I thought there was no way she would ever go public with her faith. “So, what caused you to make the decision?” I asked. “I now see God has been working in my life since the day I was born. I just couldn’t see him at work,” she remarked regretfully. “But he didn’t give up on me, did he?” she affirmed. She then went on to say that what really convinced her to make this decision was the last few weeks of looking at these etchings from Revelation 12 and talking about their relevance. “These pictures are my story — pain, hope, despair, anger ... and overcoming. I now understand that through Jesus’ birth, as well as his death and resurrection, I am saved from death and given the gift of life. I freely accept all that he wants to give.” “And so do we,” I replied. “There’s much more to talk about,” I said. In fact, Revelation 12 shows us that there are some amazing gifts that have been given.” “Yes, let’s talk about them soon,” she said. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for coming to this world to save people like Vera and me. I’m not sure I understand what Christmas is all about but this I know — you have come and are worthy of all my worship! Amen. |
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