Monday, December 22, 2008

The Gloom is Only on the Outside!


This morning I've been chasing around all over the place and it's not the best of mornings for the task. There's a fine drizzle --- what was called a 'mizzle' when I was a boy --- that means it's enough to keep your windscreen wipers going intermittently but not enough to do much else. The overall impression of the day is one of gloominess, the greyness of the sky seemingly reflected in so much else.

Despite this, I feel great! It's just two days to go before Christmas Day and there is so much to thank God for and to celebrate. Even the gloom can be appreciated if you approach the subject by comparison, for as soon as you start to compare it with bright, sunny, days then you find yourself being transported, at least in your mind, to those bright and sunny days. Now that's a real bonus to be grateful for isn't it!

I guess what I'm really saying is that no matter what the day looks like on the outside it's still a gift from God, given for you to enjoy and make something of. After all, if you won the top prize in the Lottery then it would soon put a golden lining to the gloomiest cloud-filled day, wouldn't it.

Well, in a couple of days time the greatest gift ever will be celebrated by millions of people around the world as they celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and the momentous event that changed the world just over two thousand years ago.

Families will gather around the Christmas tree to open their gifts to each other and be pleased, shocked, surprised, disappointed or just plain indifferent to what they find when they untie the ribbons and unwrap the glitzy paper. Some may exclaim aloud as they recognise the gift that they gave to the giver only two years ago, and in recognising it remember who gave it to them in the first place. Maybe it will bring a smile, maybe a disappointment.

There is still, however, that one unique gift that we can all receive; that gift which can turn any and every day into Christmas Day and Birthday all rolled into one --- the gift of everlasting life through Jesus Christ. One thing that I can guarantee is that when you seek out and receive this gift it will never let you down. It will never cause you consternation, nor disappointment, and is guaranteed to have a life-changing effect on your life, not just for this day or this week, or even this year, but for ever. When I say 'for ever' I really mean 'for ever' as well, for this gift will be with you for the whole of eternity.

Now, isn't that something which brightens even the gloomiest of days! You see, gloom doesn't have to be on the inside as well as the outside. When the light of Jesus Christ is within you then it will shine through even the dullest and greyest of days.

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