2Corinthians 5:16 From now on, therefore, we
regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from
a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. 17 So if
anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away;
see, everything has become new! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to
himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in
Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses
against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 20 So we are
ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat
you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew
no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
The
story is told of Christmas Eve 1914 when 100 000 British and German troops
were involved in an unofficial truce along the length of the Western
Front.
Captain Sir Edward Hulse Bart reported how
a sing-song which "ended up with 'Auld lang syne' which we all, English,
Scots, Irish, Prussians, Wurttenbergers, etc, joined in. It was absolutely
astounding, and if I had seen it on a cinematograph film I should have sworn
that it was faked ![1]
The
annual celebration of the birth of Jesus becomes a moment when the love of God
breaks into our grubby, selfish lives. Heaven touched earth, and God’s love was
found in a simple cattle trough “reconciling
the world to himself”. Christmas becomes a moment to glimpse the love of
God in the simple act of soldiers singing together instead of shooting each
other.
The
sadness of Christmas Eve 1914 is that this was only a temporary respite: the
war dragged on for another four years before people found a way of stopping the
fighting. My prayer is that this Christmas may be more than a temporary respite
from our foolish self-interested lives. Once
again Christmas Eve holds out hope for love, kindness - and even for reconciliation.
We have the opportunity for a new beginning: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
Christmas
challenges us to show generous kindness in giving gifts, laughing together, and
reaching out to one another.... for the next 365 days!
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