The Christmas Present

How many times in your lifetime have you written or looked at the word "Christmas"?

Thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Millions?

And late last night for the first time I saw something in the word "Christmas" that I have never, ever noticed before.

I have no doubt that most people have noticed it.
Just call me "slow" when it comes to that which is right in the middle of the word.

Do you see it?
Does it stick out like a sore thumb to you like it does for me now?
It's right there!!
Look closely once again at this remarkable word - Christmas.

My iWitness...

I have actually noticed two things about the word Christmas. I only noticed the second thing because of noticing the first thing.
Let's take a look shall we.....?

For the first time ever I noticed that in the heart of the word Christmas is the word "is".
In the word Christmas you will not find the word "was" or "will be."
But rather you will find "is" as in God is with us in the present tense and maybe that's why the incarnation of the second person of the Trinity is just that... the "present"...
Jesus "is" with us in this present moment...
He is, as the prophet Isaiah predicted, Immanuel - God with us... now and now again and now again and again and again.

The second thing I noticed about the word Christmas is the word "as" at the end of the word.
Put these two revelations together and flip them around and you get the phrase "as is."

Jesus left the heavenly kingdom to meet us where we live, where we work, where we play "as is."
He doesn't wait for us to get better or to become more "evolved."
He doesn't have time for us to get our act together.
He takes the initiative to meet us, greet us, embrace us and come to us "as is."
I believe that to be the most incredible Christmas present in all of eternity.

My dream and hope for all of us is to have the Immanuel with us as we love and offer the "as is" grace to all those we meet and encounter on a daily basis.
And maybe, just maybe if we do...
We will experience heaven on earth, just like the shepherds did two thousand years ago when the angels announced the arrival of a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths who "is" Christ the Lord.

The Christmas Present...

Merry Christmas!!

And that's my iWitness...
Laugh often and Fear not!
David!

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1. 1-4, 14)