Wrestling with the Meaning of Life     Ecclesiastes 1:1-11;12:13-14

French Philosopher Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) said, "There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God the Creator made known through Jesus Christ." But how many times do we find ourselves trying to plug that hole with something that isn't shaped like God?

We all have responsibilities. The dog has to be walked. The electric bill has to be paid. The bedtime routine has to be accomplished. And after days and weeks and years of the same thing, we find ourselves feeling enslaved to the cycle of life. Our culture will tell us that the way to find true meaning is to abandon that cycle: Leave the family! Abandon the dog! Find yourself! But true meaning in life doesn’t come through abandoning those responsibilities; it comes in realizing that we can connect with God inside and even through that cycle. Without connecting with God, the cycle is monotonous and enslaving. But when we begin to connect with God, we start to see opportunity and meaning even in the small things.

My wife left on a trip today with our two youngest children. They are traveling about seven hours to her parents' home to visit with her sister, who is visiting from Japan. Don't laugh, but this was hard for me. We always take trips like that together. I have traveled many times alone with my career, driving and flying alone. But I have never watched Becky leave for a trip without me. Everything in our home reminds me of her. Everything there reflects her touch. For some reason I am acutely aware of it when she is gone. But everything still bears her mark when she is present. A basket of laundry, neatly folded and ready to be put away. An empty basket beside that one. The extra blanket she always uses on her side of the bed at night, neatly folded on the foot of the bed, which itself is made up neatly. Our kitchen table with chairs arranged around it. Even the empty space in the driveway where her truck is normally parked. All these (and many more) insignificant things take on new meaning because they remind me of her.

What if we lived our lives seeing everything as a reflection of God's touch? What if we realized that every moment has the potential of being a holy moment because God is there in the ordinary? Can we cook a meal at home for love of God, or mow the lawn for His pleasure? Can we do all things as an act of worship to Him and look for His hand and listen for His voice? Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking that certain moments of life are reserved for God and certain ones are not. Sundays are for God (at least 2 hours in the morning), and maybe Wednesday nights. The rest is my time, right? The question is not whether He’s there all the time and everywhere; the question is how cognizant we want to be of His presence. Of how much of the void within us that Pascal referred to we are willing to fill with Him.

We have the choice this week of living consciously in God’s presence, or we can just go about our tasks and responsibilities and never recognize His presence. If we never acknowledge His presence, then as the writer of Ecclesiastes said, there will be nothing new under the sun. Or we can choose to simply acknowledge the presence of God in our ordinary lives. That’s when the ordinary starts to become extraordinary.

Go, Tell It On the Mountain     Luke 1

Two great quotes that relate to our lesson for this coming Sunday:

"[Scrooge] became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the old city knew...Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but he let them laugh..." from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

"How many there are...who imagine that because Jesus paid it all, they need pay nothing, forgetting that the prime object of their salvation was that they should follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ in bringing back a lost world to God."  Missionary Lottie Moon, Tungchow, China, 1887

We are all saved to serve and made for a mission. The old hymn 'Go, Tell it On the Mountain' echoes this sentiment perfectly. And so does Zechariah's song of praise and prophecy in Luke 1. He affirmed that Messiah would come to bring redemption and peace to all people, and that those who would be delivered should serve Him without fear. As you prepare for Sunday School this week, focus on those three words: redemption, peace, serve. If you have enjoyed redemption through Jesus Christ, how are you enjoying that peace? How can you spread Christ's message of redemption and peace by serving Him?

The real story of Ebenezer Scrooge is one of transformation. When his heart was changed, he was changed. The real story of Christmas is one of transformation. God became a man-child so we could become children of God. Jesus came to die so we could be transformed into the likeness of God. Only the redeemed can truly understand the meaning of Christmas, because  the Christ-child came to "save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21b).

Those who have experienced God's redemption through Jesus Christ enjoy peace with God. At the end of Zechariah's prophetic song of praise in Luke 1 he declares that Messiah will "guide our feet into the way of peace" (Luke 1:79). Deliverance from sin through Jesus brings us peace with God, but also ushers us into a life of peace as we learn to depend on Him by faith. Luke uses the Greek word 'eirene' for peace 14 times, more than any other New Testament book. It implies the presence of safety, security, and justice. That is certainly a benefit worth proclaiming!

The theme of serving, and proclamation, is the center of Zechariah's song in Luke 1:72-77. "He has given us the privilege, since we have been rescued from our enemies' clutches, to serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness in His presence all our days" (Luke 1:73b-75). We are saved to serve and made for a mission. it is a mission of proclaiming His offer of redemption.

The earlier quote from missionary Lottie Moon shows that she understood well the meaning of this passage in Luke's gospel. Read her pointed words again and determine to share Christ with someone this Christmas!!

Joy to the World     Luke 1

In the first chapter of Luke's Gospel Mary, the mother of Jesus, celebrated God's activity in her life and in the lives of God's people throughout time. Her song of praise is called the Magnificat, taken from the first word of the hymn in the Latin Vulgate ("magnifies"). It is a song of unbridled joy at God's activity. The biblical concept of joy may include the idea of happiness, but it is not defined by it. Happiness comes and goes depending on circumstances. Our word 'happy' is based on the term 'hap', which means "fortune", or "luck". The verb means "to occur by chance". The biblical concept of joy is a settled confidence that I rest securely in God's grace, no matter what my circumstances are. The Greek word for joy comes from the same root term from which the word grace is derived. Joy does not depend on chance but on God's amazing and steadfast grace.

As you read Mary's song of joyous praise, remember the circumstances surrounding it. Mary is engaged to a Jewish man, in a strict Jewish society. She is found to be pregnant, although she is a virgin. Who would believe that her child is from God's Holy Spirit? Her own soon-to-be husband did not believe until an angel from God verified Mary's story. Imagine the stigma that would forever surround Mary in Jewish society. And yet, she trusted in God's gracious hand on her life and willingly submitted to His plan. Furthermore, she chose not to whine and complain about God's plan, but to rejoice in it despite the cost.

Her song expresses joy in who God is to her and to His people, joy in how God works in our lives, and joy in His reliability. Her trust in God was based on His track record in the past, and her own experience with Him. God had fulfilled His promises to His people in the past, and God had cared for Mary in her past. She could rest in His sovereign grace now and in the future.

Do you possess that kind of confident joy in God? Are you rejoicing over His plan for your life? Who is God to you? How has He worked in your past? How has He proven Himself utterly reliable? Mary rejoiced in God's troublesome plan for her life because His work through her would truly bring Joy to the World. How does God want to use you to share His message of joy?