It appeared to be another ordinary day, when Mary and Joseph came to the Temple to present Jesus to the Lord, as the law required. An older man by the name of Simeon came to them. He was known as a righteous and God-devoted man, who lived in Jerusalem. Simeon had spent his entire life eagerly expecting the coming of the Messiah. With a heart flooded with overwhelming emotion, and eyes filled with tears of joy, he stretched out his arms and wrapped them around the newborn baby. A sense of promise and fulfillment swept through his heart and mind. The many years of waiting and praying were no longer lost in despair but were rather exchanged with hope, life and salvation brought forth through Christ – The Messiah. “He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and He is the glory of your people Israel!” (Luke2:32). Simeon’s words not only echoed throughout the Temple that day, but they continued to proclaim the prophetic fulfillment of God’s covenant love not only for the Jews, but also for all humanity.
After Communism fell in Eastern Europe and Russia, many missionaries came to bring forth God’s message of love. I read about a young Russian boy by the name of Misha. As a 6-year old orphan, his attention was completely captivated as missionaries shared with him and the rest of the children about the birth of Christ. This was the first time they had been told about Jesus. All the kids were given materials and were instructed to draw a picture of the manger scene. Misha was one of the first kids to complete his assignment. However, when the missionary looked down, he saw two babies in the manger instead of just one. Proudly looking at his drawing the child began to explain what he had learned. He repeated the story accurately until he came to the part when Mary put the baby Jesus in the manger. He said,
And when Mary laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no mama and no papa, so I don’t have any place to stay. Then Jesus told me I could stay with him. So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and He told me I could stay with Him forever.*
On that day Misha found someone who would never abandon him, never abuse him and never betray him. He found love!
In a world of sin, darkness and loneliness we have been given righteousness, light and acceptance. Let’s not forget that Jesus – our Messiah came for us, so that we could be with Him forever!
MAY WE CELEBRATE THE BIRTH OF JESUS WITH THE REVELATION THAT LOVE HAS COME FOR US, TO GIVE US ACCEPTANCE, RIGHTEOUSNESS AND ETERNAL LIFE! LOVE CAME SO WE CAN BE WITH OUR GOD FOREVER!
FROM ALL OF US AT CHANGING A GENERATION WE WOULD LIKE TO WISH YOU A VERY JOYOUS CHRISTMAS!
* http://www.valdezlink.com/fun/twobabies.htm ** Written by Ceitci Demirkova (Founder & CEO)