A Simple Find that Can Always Find You

It’s Christmas time again! There is so much to plan for that I am both excited and exhausted just thinking about it. For some of us this is a beautiful season filled with joy despite the stress. But for some of us it is a reminder of things that aren’t so beautiful. Not everyone’s life is hunky dory. For some Christmas becomes a stark reminder of what is difficult about living—memories of lost loved ones, loneliness, lack of money. I bet you know of some people who can identify with these feelings. Perhaps you are one of them. Or maybe you’ve just “been there.” I know I have. But then it hits me.

It’s a really simple thought, actually. Yet it is incredibly difficult to remember. It is especially difficult when you find yourself in the midst of a season that invites busyness, stress, sadness, or bitterness. But if you and I see it, and I mean really see it, it can change us. Here is what I mean.

It doesn’t take us long to notice during the holiday season that many people are searching for Love–to love and be loved. Others are searching for Grace–a second chance, a clean slate, freedom from their past or even forgiveness. Then there are those searching for Truth–something real, lasting, and substantial, and able to set a different course for a different kind of life. So this thought I offer you is really simple, yet so difficult to remember and even harder for many of us to see, even during Christmas. Here it is.

Love, Grace and Truth can always be found in a dirty manger in Bethlehem, a blood-stained cross on a hill called Golgotha, and an empty tomb near a garden. And if you find any one of these places, love, grace, and truth will certainly find you.

Why? Because the baby who once slept in that manger grew up to passionately live, perfectly love, and profoundly teach all of humanity what it meant to truly be human. Then He was innocently put to death on that cross so that the rest of us who were guilty of imperfect love and willful disobedience according to God’s prescribed way of life, could be counted as innocent and be restored to wholeness. And as if that wasn’t enough (because it wasn’t), He arose from that tomb where he was buried to prove that the manger He slept in, the life He lived, the love He offered, the way of life He taught, and the death He died, was real, lasting and substantial. And this real story of a real life, death and resurrection has set the course for a different kind of life–one that begins now and never ends. This is a story of Love, Grace, and Truth. You could say that it is ultimately a story of Rescue.

So if you find this manger, keep going and walk up that hill to see the blood-stained cross. From there follow the road that leads to the garden and peek inside that nearby empty tomb. Perhaps then you will find what you are looking for. Except you might discover that it wasn’t merely love, grace and truth that you were searching for after all.

It was Jesus. Because He is, as Scripture says, the image of the invisible God who was born because of love and was full of grace and truth. He is God made human sent to rescue us from our wondering searches. He is Love, Grace and Truth. He is the Savior from heaven and King of creation. This is His story. And it is a real life story in history that has changed countless life stories. If you see it, believe it, and are willing to stake your life on it, it can change yours. Forever.

Oh, and one additional thought. If love, grace and truth really finds you it should begin to change how you treat others you meet along the way, and not just during the Christmas season. Besides, you just might have the opportunity to lead them to what they are really searching for—King Jesus, who is not only the meaning behind Christmas but the meaning behind life, love, grace and truth.