'Tis the Season

Since we are in the heart of our non-conference games, hopefully there have been opportunities to learn, improve, and grow from each contest played! As we get closer to our conference season, we must also remember the season that we are in—the Christ-mas one.

‘Tis the season of giving and receiving gifts, right? Well, yes!

“For God so loved the world, He gave His one and only Son so that we may not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) What an amazing gift, and ultimately, the only gift that truly matters during this time of year (regardless of what Hallmark, Santa Claus, and mainstream retail tells us).

When God made us, we were created to BE in His presence, which means we BELONG in His presence (for that is where we find FULLNESS of joy, peace, love, strength, and hope—just to name a few). When sin entered the world in the Garden of Eden, we were separated from His presence. As such, God (being the Sovereign Teacher, Restorer, and True Love that He is) had a great plan to restore this relationship out of His deep love for us. God could have “fixed” the “sin-problem” right then and there, and sacrificed Jesus at that very moment. However, it would not have been as meaningful to us because we did not have the context of generations of blood sacrifice for sin atonement, birthright and inheritance of the first-born, and the father-son relationship (think Abraham and Isaac). Therefore, God set the stage for Jesus to come into the world only after multiple generations had been ingrained with this culture where He was able to create a lineage full of stories of redemption (Moses, Ruth, Esther…) and of victory (David) for His Son to become manifested in the flesh to walk among us, die and ultimately overcome death… ALL of this so that we could understand the intensity of His great love for us and how much He wanted to restore the relationship of us being in His presence—as it was intended “in the beginning.”

Since we believe that the Word is true, we believe that our acceptance of Jesus means that we have received ALL of Him (Healer, Friend, Confidant, Savior, Creator…) and this gift means that we ARE united with Him IN HIS PRESENCE here on earth, and for eternity.

As we prepare to give and receive gifts this season, let us reflect and appreciate the best gift we have been given. May God empower each of us to be bold during this month to share with others our acceptance of this gift from our Heavenly Father AND usher them into His presence as we live daily as carriers of His Kingdom!

Have an amazing day!