Guest Post from The Husband

    This is a first. In my two year blogging history, I have never invited The Husband to comment (I am just glad that he reads the blog on a regular basis), much less submit a post, but this was something too special to pass up.
    The Husband works for a financial institution here in Nashvegas. As with all large publicly owned companies, it is a secular institution.  Each year The Husband sends a Christmas letter to every employee of the bank, all 800+ of them. He does so with gentleness and respect for each employee, but no matter the personal cost to him, he feels compelled by deep conviction to share his thoughts regarding the true meaning of Christmas. It is a great blessing that the leadership of the bank does not prohibit him from sending the letter, which is so very rare in this day and time. I tell you all of this by way of introduction so that you will be able to understand how remarkable and precious the Christmas letter really is...
   Without further ado, here is the Husband's 2010 Christmas letter:

Merry Christmas!

“Joy to the World, the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare Him room.”

     "I am confident that you, as I, have probably sung these verses over a hundred times. However, as I recently pondered these words, I asked myself how many times have I truly reveled in the power of these words and celebrated their meaning? With the birth of Jesus, the Lord has truly come and we on earth can receive our King. Equally as important, and perhaps more so, these words entreat us to prepare Him room in our heart such that as we ask Him to be our Lord and Savior,  the Holy Spirit lives in us. Then when we pass from this earth, we awake in the Heavens to forever be with our Messiah. Indeed, what joy we should have as we celebrate each and every Christmas.

   As Christmas day approaches and I think of the various “happenings” related to this wondrous event, two words have resonated in my thoughts, “obedience and promise.”  The initial act of obedience centered upon Joseph – sometimes referred to as the forgotten man of Christmas. Joseph was forced to accept a situation that was certainly humiliating and as difficult as any which one could imagine as he excitedly looked forward to his marriage day with Mary, only to learn that his wife-to-be was pregnant. Once he learned the truth, out of obedience, Joseph remained fully devoted to Mary. On the other hand, Mary – reflecting the obedience of submission as seen in Luke, was chosen by God, and accepted her role as the one who as a virgin would give birth to the Son of God who came to earth to transform our world as no one else could ever do.

     With the birth of Christ, the shepherds were obedient in their role to go to this child bearing the gifts of worship and adoration. It is particularly important for us to realize that the shepherds were the lowest of society, pushed out of their lands by Egyptians and despised by many, yet chosen by God to be the first of humanity to whom the birth of the Son of God was to be revealed. What does that tell all the world? – no matter how low you are as judged by the world, you are never beyond the reach of the Lord; He came to reach out and touch us in a way no one else could.

     We must also ask ourselves, “Why was there no room in the inn for the Prince of Peace, the King of humanity, to be born?” There is nothing like Christmas in all of culture, in all the history of mankind. Never before has a King been relegated to such impoverished conditions, such that royalty would actually invade poverty. Contemplate the truth that the royal robes of eternity were born in the poverty of a stable surrounded by the stench of animals – even in birth rejected by humanity, a precursor to the end of His life when man would once again reject Him even to the point of death on a cross. Born to a peasant woman, God, by His son Jesus humbled Himself to become a man so that we might have access to Him for all eternity.

     The second word which I embraced was “promise” especially as related to the words of the Old Testament. The words of the prophets of the Old Testament clearly promise us that a Savior is to be born to this world. He is to be a King unlike any which the world would anticipate – a King who would come not to conquer by sword and physical battle, but instead a King who came to battle for the soul of each of the Lord’s precious children on earth. His battle was to conquer the natural sin to which we are all held hostage and provide us an avenue through God’s grace and mercy to be cleansed of these marks and through His grace and not works to be able to be reunited in eternity with our Lord.

     Christmas is like no other time of the year. The little boy or little girl in all of us begs to come out and join in the festivities. However, as believers we quickly determine that the true joy of Christmas is the knowledge that through the birth of Christ, we are promised that we will never be alone. No matter the circumstances which we face, we must claim the victory that in His sovereignty God is always intimately involved. During 2010, we at [this financial institution] have faced an array of challenges ranging from difficult business circumstances to seeing many impacted significantly by the May flood to severe illness of associates and loved ones and even to the passing of life on this earth. We, too, have experienced the blessings and joy of sacrificially helping others; witnessed the healing of those dealing with sickness; seen changes for the good in decision-making on the part of our children; and even prayed for an organ transplant recipient who has seen much improvement in her quality of life.

     For all that has been given to us, what perhaps might be the greatest gift which we might give to our Lord? I say that it is our obedience to Him, for in that obedience we give Him our heart; our soul; our spirit. When He came to earth as Emmanuel, God with us, that is what He desired from us. And through His birth into humanity, Jesus has opened the door to eternity for all who choose to believe and accept. I pray that we all embrace this truth: that we should not merely celebrate Christmas this season but instead we should celebrate Christ – some of us possibly for the first time. What a gift that would be to the Lord and surely a Merry Christmas for that person. Through this, what better present can ever be received? – The guarantee that one day, because of Jesus and Jesus alone, everything will be made right in this world! I pray that you find great joy in the truth that you are a special creation of the Lord, loved by Him in a way that we can never fully understand while on earth. In that and because of that, I wish for each of you a truly “Merry Christmas”!!

                                                                                                God Bless"

I couldn't have said it better if I tried...