"Here Was a Man!!"
(To be spoken--Johnny Cash-like--over a lonely keyboard version of "Joy to the World")
"Here was a man...a man who was born in a small village, the son of a peasant woman. He grew up in another small village. Until He reached the age of thirty, He worked as a carpenter; then, for three years, He was a travelling minister. But He never travelled more than two hundred miles from where He was born, and where He did go, He usually walked. He never held political office, He never wrote a book, He never bought a home, He never had a family, He never went to college, and He never set foot inside a big city, yet...here was a man.
"Here was a man...though He never did one of those things that you usually associate with greatness, He had no credentials but Himself. He had nothing to do with this World, except through the Divine Purpose that brought Him to this World.
"While He was still a young man, the Tide of Popular Opinion turned against Him. Most of His FRiends ran away...one of them denied Him, one of them betrayed Him and turned Him over to his Enemies. Then, He went through the mockery of a Trial and was nailed to a Roman Cross between two thieves. And even while He was dying, His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had in this World, and that was His robe, His Purple Robe. When He was dead, He was taken down from the cross and laid in a borrowed grave, provided by a compassionate FRiend.
"More than Nineteen Centuries have come and gone, and today He's the Centerpiece of the Human Race, Our Leader, and the Column to Human Destiny. And I think I'm well within the mark when I say that All of the Armies that Ever Marched, All of the Navies that Ever Sailed, All of the Legislative Bodies that Ever Sat, and All of the Kings that Ever Reigned...All of Them Put Together have not affected the Life of Man on this Earth so Powerfully as that One Solitary Life...
"Here was a man."
My six-year-old daughter and I were driving along yesterday, listening to our new Christmas CD we had just picked up from Staples Office Supply, when this "song" came on and we both stopped chatting and listened intently. I explained--halfway through--that Mr. Cash was talking about Jesus. Then, after the song was over, JessieLee looked up at me and said, "Daddy, why didn't Jesus have a family?" Temporarily shocked by her natural incisiveness, I mumbled a silly answer about not meeting the right mommy, but the question has been on my mind ever since. So, Jessica, here's the answer Daddy meant to say, "Jesus never had a family because All of Us are His Family, All of Us are His Brothers and Sisters, All of Us are His Children!!"
Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan or not...Happy Holidays to Each and Every One of You Wonderful FReepers...You have become MY extended family!!
1 posted on 12/03/2001 4:46 AM EST by Mudboy Slim
Happy Holiday FReegards...MUD
If you don't mind my sharing: Last night, I had a long, long talk with my youngest daughter....not about that question, but another comment she made. She has lots on her mind...and I told her, after this long talk, after lots of her tears shed, "let's pray about all of this." And she said, "why, I pray every night for something and He never answers my prayers." Oh, my heart broke.
I had to explain to her that God always answers our prayers...sometimes, though, the answer is 'no,' other times it's, 'you have to wait,' and still others, it's 'yes.'
I told her when He says no, it's because He wants what's best for us.....like when a baby wants to touch the stove, we tell it "no." She said, "I remember when you said that to me." So, I said, when God tells us 'no,' it's for our best and we need to pray and ask for God to take away us wanting that something He doesn't want us to have or do.
Then I said, other times, when God tells us "we have to wait," it's because it's not yet time.....we have to or something else has to be ready that isn't ready yet.
Then I told her, sometimes it seems unfair that other people seem to get all the things we would like to have or want. Then I told her, maybe some of those people aren't going to heaven, and God knowing (but not wanting), this is maybe the most they'll ever have, while they're here on this earth. But God promises those who believe in Him a place in one of God's mansions, where the streets are lined with gold, and all the happiness forever.
She seemed more at peace after we did pray. I am very thankful that Jesus wanted us to be a part of His family.
MUD bump!