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December 25
Today
our family played and laughed and ate (no carp!) and sang along to Christmas
music. And of course, we opened
presents! It seems no matter how old I am, I still love giving and receiving
Christmas presents. Having young children around is such fun, hearing giggles
and seeing the excitement on their faces when they open up a present that is
better than they could have imagined.
Before
going to sleep tonight I decided to read, once again, Revelation 12. And as I read,
I was amazed at four amazing gifts Christ has brought to the earth — salvation,
the kingdom, power, and authority! Though the kids and Lisa went off to sleep I
decided I would stay up and explore my new presents and to ask Christ how they
were to be received and used. They are indeed better than I could have
imagined.
Salvation
Though I have heard, and spoken about, this gift for most of
my life, I had to admit I didn’t know what it was. As I sat there in silence,
it seemed as if the Spirit of Jesus was saying that salvation means “healing”
or “wholeness.” Through my own rebellious ways, and especially through my
unresolved anger, I realized that I had become like a clogged water pipe. The
water (that is, the Lord’s
presence) was flowing into my life but just barely. Consequently, my
relationship with him, with others, and even with myself was less than whole.
As I accepted this truth, and confessed how I was responsible for the clogging,
I began to see how God’s life-giving water — his life giving light — was
restoring my soul to its intended wholeness.
The Kingdom
Now, that’s a puzzling gift. I’ve never lived with a king or known anyone who
has. But as I reflected on this amazing gift, I remembered a line I had
recently read in Madeline L’Engle: “the kingdom is home.” The Lord seemed to be saying
that his home — his righteousness, peace, and joy — were given to me.
Yes, though I am far away from my
earthly home this evening, I began to realize that I was with the Lord, and
that he was with and in me. Yes, there is no place like home!
Power
Closely connected to the
other two gifts is the gift of power. “You know, prior to my experience with
these pictures from Revelation 12, I was feeling pretty powerless,” I told the
Lord. Friends and family tried to tell me “just get over it.” But no matter how
hard I tried, no attempt to pull myself up by my proverbial ‘bootstraps’ seemed
to help. The Lord then pointed out that I had been functioning like an
appliance that was not plugged-in to the outlet. Sure, I looked nice but I was
not working as I was designed. I
felt like giving-up, trading in my appliance for a newer and better model. “The
problem,” he seemed to be saying, “is not the appliance but the wiring.” The
best way I know how to describe what happened next is that he ‘plugged me in’
to the power source. “Like any appliance you have a job to do. The power you
have received is not for you, but so that you would serve and love other
people. As long as you stay plugged into the power source you will be great
things for me,” he seemed to be promising.
Authority
The last gift he gave and
explained to me was authority. It seemed the Spirit was saying,” Unfortunately,
in this permissive, fallen world authority has fallen out of favor. It is
viewed as ugly and demeaning. Nothing could be further from the truth. This
gift is given to you so that you may bring your sins, and the sins of those you
know and love, to me. I give you the authority to use my name. Remember, I have all authority on
heaven and earth. Like the other gifts, this is not given to you for your
selfish gain but rather that you might bind people’s sins on me and loose them
from the power of the Red Dragon.”
I’m
not sure the above conversation is actually how it happened. I didn’t hear an
audible voice though I did do a lot of listening to what I believe the Spirit
was saying. I’m confident there is much more to know about these four wonderful
Christmas gifts. But this I do know: I love the Lord and I’m so thankful that
he has come!
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