Paul Harvey died in 2009. His trademark show, “The Rest of the Story” was broadcast from 1976 to 2009. He told a story every Christmas to help the cynics and skeptics grasp the true significance of Christmas.
I will abbreviate Paul’s story.
He was a good man. He loved his wife and diligently applied himself to his daily work. But he couldn’t accept the central Christmas truth of incarnation, God becoming man. It just wasn’t plausible to his logical and concrete way of thinking. For that reason he refused to go to the Christmas Eve Service with his wife. He would stay home and read the newspaper. His disappointed wife turned and went out the front door to attend the service by herself. He found his newspaper and sat in his favorite chair before the glowing fire in the fireplace. A short time passed till he heard a series of several quiet “thuds” against the front window. Puzzled, he put his newspaper on the coffee table and proceeded to the front door hoping to find the source of the noise. After opening the front door he looked on the ground and saw several stunned birds sitting in the snow below the window. The birds would freeze to death if left alone. There was a nearby barn with an illuminated bulb hanging from the ceiling. He opened the barn door and began urging the stunned birds towards the open door. All his efforts produced no impact on the cold and stunned birds. They only appeared more frightened, confused and afraid. When he waved his arms the birds only grew more alarmed. How could he communicate to the frightened birds that he meant no harm? He had come to an impossible divide. Despite his best efforts these birds would die in the snow tonight. But he couldn’t express his sincere concern for their welfare because they were birds and he was human. What was he going to do? He couldn’t just let the birds die. The only way to help these birds was for him to become a bird. His mind seized upon that thought as the church bells from town began to chime. He fell forward upon his knees in the snow. The wonder of incarnation stunned his mind and heart as he began to connect the dots about what Christmas was all about.
The only way we could be saved from our sins was in the Incarnation of the Son of God. The eternal Son of God confined his Person to a physical body for 33 years yet never compromised his eternal deity. This is the incarnation. This was required of Jesus for him to be a perfect sacrifice and carry our sins on the Cross. This was required of Jesus to fully communicate to our sin darkened hearts the love of His Heavenly Father. Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. This central foundational truth of the Christian faith fills my heart with wonder and amazement every year at this time of year.
God Bless You
Pastor Drew
