The most WONDERFUL time of the year!
by Cal Bombay
Christmas is that, and much, much more! The song says it well, but the Bible says it better. Eight hundred years before Jesus was born, Isaiah announced, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called WONDERFUL counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)
That knowledge, eight hundred years in advance, is part of WONDER of it all!
Eighty ye
ars ago, as a child of four, I was filled with wonder at the activity, atmosphere, bringing a tree into the house, a special pudding my mother made, and the WONDERFUL gifts which would surprise us (and which I later learned involved some sacrifice on my parents’ part). The highlight was an actual fresh ripe orange. Strange you may think? Oranges were rare in those days, way up in northern Canada.
We were poor, but my siblings and I didn’t know it. Our parents gave us everything we needed: love, food enough, warmth, security, nurture and often forgiveness.
As the years progressed, I learned what truly makes one rich: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” 2 Corinthians 8:9
Jesus, the Christ of God, has made us rich, both spiritually and materially. As we look back at our lives, we can’t help but think of what the prophet said, is true in Isaiah 25:1: “Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done WONDERFUL things, things planned long ago.”
When I think of the South Sudanese refugees, I realize that I am rich beyond measure. I have more than enough food to eat. Even though prices are going up, there is plenty of food in the stores if I need more. I can also feast on God’s word, by reading one of my Bibles or listening to teaching online or on TV. When you have a choice, you are rich.
This Christmas, I want to be more direct in showing my appreciation to God for letting me become rich! I’m not a millionaire of course (Though I have had bogus telephone offers at least 20 times this year, millions of dollars because I was picked, or won, … you likely got some similar fraudulent telephone call of that nature too.)
I cannot help but think of 2 Peter 1:3-4 “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”
You and I are participants of God’s divine nature, and His nature is to give. That’s why I am going to make a special gift to Cal Bombay Ministries this Christmas. I really hope you will too, out of the abundance we have here in the great white north – one of the richest countries in the world.
I’m so grateful for all that was accomplished this year—the gardens planted, the vegetables harvested, and the people who have had food to eat. There is much more to be done next year to ensure that everyone has enough to eat.
I hope you will ponder two things this Christmas:
- Think about the great love of God that he should give such a sacrifice for us.
- Think about the comparative wealth from which we can even sacrifice some for others.
All of our family wishes you a very Merry Christmas and that you will experience the reality of the greatest reality there is. Our debt as been paid by that Baby Jesus, when at 33 years of human living, he laid it all down, for you and me.
May we all lay down some of the blessings we have in Canada for God’s suffering people who are facing horror and death. We can provide the love, food enough, warmth, security, nurture and often forgiveness. We expect a double harvest in 2022, by saving body, mind, and life through the Gardens of Hope.
Yours with deep gratitude for what you have done and are doing to show God’s divine nature and give Him great glory!