CHRISTMAS

THE BEST LOVE STORY EVER

Babatunde Timothy Smith

INTRODUCTION
Two forms of love are portrayed through Christmas. The first is the
most heard of though less understood and believed; THE LOVE OF
GOD to humanity as revealed in the birth of Jesus the Son of God.
This is the greatest form of love ever shown, there is none like it
and there cannot be any like it ever again. Christmas preaches
the greatest love ever revealed to man. The part of gaining the
true understanding of what the love entails is of great concern
and will always be. Though men speak of, read of and hear about
this love not just in season as Christmas but all the time, yet they
seldom appropriate the weight of the love it presents into their
lives. The love of God is often looked upon in the light of the
corrupted love of man.

The other form of love, which is the thrust of this present study, is
the love that came out of the revelation of the earlier mentioned
love. It was this love and it was by this love that the love of God
was introduced to man. This was after man failed to internalize
the love shown to him in the beginning perfectly. Joseph loved
Mary; likewise, Mary loved Joseph with the love of Christmas. It
was from the love these two express to each other that the love
of God (Christmas) became revealed. They brought the love of
God into a physical manifestation. Through them, the love of God
became flesh.

The drama, which their relationship unfolded, in that more or less

unrecognized town, is a great wealth for mankind. As human
beings, we need to take a lift from this experience as we consider
our relationship with one another and with God.
PART ONE Chapter
ONE

EVERYDAY IS NOT CHRISTMAS

As often said and believed, “Everyday is not Christmas.” By
‘everyday,’ we mean every given opportunity, every time, and
every passing moment. People say this when they want to shy
away from a responsibility or the help they are ought to render
their fellows. When someone asks for something and you do it, it
is Christmas, but when the person asks again and you cannot do
it or you do not want to do it, then you say, “Every day is not
Christmas”.

Is everyday Christmas? Can every given day, the entire day of

every human life on earth be Christmas? This is the major
question we intend to probe into through this study.

I am so sure that many people want all of their days to be

Christmas, since Christmas for them is a time to stretch their
hands to receive gifts from others. Christmas in the literal sense is
funfair, joy and feasting. I guess there are people who would want
their days to continue as a feast and festivity. There are beggars
on the streets, homeless people, paupers and many of such kinds
who know that they will feed on sumptuous meals a Christmas
through the philanthropic gestures of Christians and Christian
groups. Christian for them is the time they have new wears to put
on. Such a group cannot but desire that all their day would be a
Christmas. It is so unfortunate that it is only on Christmas (the
day) that many people in the world have the opportunity to feed
on sumptuous meals.

This idea of “Every day ought to be Christmas” is due to the

mindset that these people have concerning Christmas. Apart from
those who wait for Christmas at the receiving end, there are those
who are the givers, such people are those who wait to give on
Christmas. The sense of preparation these people make for
Christmas, their mindset and the like buttresses this idea. They
prepare themselves so much to show their philanthropic character
during this festive period. People expect something from them
and they would not want to let them down. For the givers,
“Everyday cannot be Christmas” because they cannot be doing
the giving everyday. Since for them Christmas is all about giving
gifts (materials).

In a way, both views are correct, but they limit what Christmas is
all about and all it should be. People tend to miss the essence of
Christmas at the point of defining it. These are general opinion
about Christmas and they are personal views what people see
Christmas as not what it is. What people see Christmas as defines
their opinion on the statement “Every day is not Christmas”. If
Christmas is just about family traditions, church traditions,
functions and the like you cannot see the whole essence of this
glorious opportunity God has given to man to understand His
love.

By Christmas we mean the time we celebrate the birth of Jesus

Christ (December 25, or whatsoever date we choose). Christmas
is just a day, a day to celebrate. It is like the days we celebrate
our Birthdays, Marriages, and House warming. Like several
dedications we do, of childbirth, baptism and the likes. It is
nothing beyond a day and the day or perhaps the season.

One thing that is appreciable in all our thoughts and actions

towards the day we have chosen to celebrate Christmas is that
we are portraying some kinds of belief system or a tradition
passed on to us. Beyond this, we are showing that we are aware
of the birth of Jesus Christ and that it is worth celebrating.
Through our celebration, we reference the fact that the birth of
Jesus is a gift of some kind, so we have to give gifts to others
during the season. This is good at least.
People also celebrate Christmas, with or without a belief in the
essence of the birth of the person being celebrated. It is obvious
that less people understand the essence of His birth, Christians
and Church faithful inclusive. We only celebrate Christmas and
not show or reveal it as it was revealed to us. How do we know
that we are to reveal the essence of Christmas not just celebrate
it, since we were not told. All that was passed unto us even in the
community of believers was ‘you need to prepare for Christmas;
you need to “show” as in “show off” the love of Christ to the
unbelievers so that you can win some of them to the Master.

What Christmas is not but has become

Christmas has become just a day in the timing of man, a
stipulated date on our calendar, fixed and unchangeable. A
holiday period preplanned for family communion, homecoming,
end of the year party, pleasurable relaxation, from the stress filled
working year and all sort. It has become just a day for festivity,
glamorous outings and fun fairs, grandeurs of all sorts. A singular
day for sharing material gifts, the day for the revelation of Santa
Claus. The world system has helped to add another day to
Christmas so that we can open all that was given to us on
Christmas, and ever share and receive more, the Boxing Day. A
day we can give back to those we love, some selected few and
those who at sometimes had given gifts to me. Christmas is the
day, we reward people who have shown us favor and appreciate
good gestures for this year in preparation for another.

Christmas is a season for Carols, the Silent and Holy Night where
all is calm and bright a time to reflect upon the birth of the
Messiah. We sing Carols, read scriptures reflecting the birth of
Christ and then depart never to share such again until the next
season for Christmas. We do a lot to show that we truly remember
the birth of Jesus this stipulated day but not afterwards.
Since this cannot (or perhaps is not meant to be a continuous act)
in our religious gathering, we conform ourselves to the mood of
the season, try as much as we can to prepare the atmosphere for
such reflections and all sort. One wonders why our reflections do
not translate into an experience that can be carried all through
the year. A reflection that can be so much impressed on our
hearts, that it will become permanent and eternal, such that we
will need not to gather like that again for another reflection. May I
ask, since we have been running this course year in, year out
what has been the result?

Christmas is just a December thing and we have to wait at least

for Easter to come so that we can at least have something to
reflect upon, now it is the death of the one we celebrated His birth
the previous December. In Easter, the reflection is different so is
the mood.

Christmas has become a Religious ceremony, not just a

celebrated feast. Christmas today has we have it, is what it has
become, not what it is meant to be. We try to add some
sacredness to this day as we celebrate a part out of the life of
Jesus. However, our sacred attitude and outburst of emotions only
stand to corrupt the essence of this gift, the Son of God, in the
sight of men, because what they see us proclaim on our
Christmas day is different from what they see us practice
afterwards.

Christmas has become a time to share and send Christmas

greetings and cards. We try some special line of words to express
our Christmas feeling to those we think we love. We speak with
words that we do not use for them before this time; something
new and dramatic. We so much prepare for it and even train our
children for it. It is now a religious ritual that must be performed.
Christmas is not just about words we prepare to tell people at a
particular point in time, it should be about words that are
consistent in our mouth day in and day out, words that translates
into positive attitude towards those we have said our good words
to, and not to them alone but everyone around us. Christmas is
not saying, “I love you” on Christmas day and showing “how
much I hate you” thereafter.

Chapter TWO

WHAT CHRISTMAS IS
What, then, shall we say in response to this? If
God is for us, who can be against us? We who did
not spare his own son, but gave Him up for us all-
how will he not all alone with him be graciously
give us all things”

Romans 8:31-32 (emphasis mine)

For God so love the world that He gave His One

and only Son, that whoever believe in Him shall not
perish but have eternal life.
 John 3:16

Dear friends, let us love one another for love

comes from God. Everyone who loves has been
born of God and knows God. Whoever does not
love does not know God because God is love. This
is how God showed his love among us; He sent his
one and only Son into the world that we might live
through him. This is love: not that we loved God,
but that he loved us and sent his Son as an
atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since
God so loved us, we also ought to love one
another. No one has ever seen God, but if we love
one another, God lives in us and his love is made
complete in us.

1John 4:7-12

Lots and lots of texts in the Bible define what Christmas is all
about. Our failure is that we look beyond the scriptures for
answers to our pressing questions. We seek understanding about
what is divine from this natural world. The world system teaches
that we have to say thank you to only those who do good to us.
Therefore, we think that Christmas is an opportunity to say thank
you to God for doing a worth of good to us, while we lack a clear
cut understanding of the good He has done and He is still doing to
us.

This is not about debating over or giving illustrations about the

history of Christmas as referenced in the account of several
church historians, on how Constantine one of the Emperors of the
Roman world used Christmas, the day, as a means of merging
Christianity with secular Paganism. Thereby, renaming the day of
the worship of Mars or Saturn (the gods of the Romans) as
Christmas the day Christ is worshipped. Many have stayed at the
point of arguing about history and have lost the essence of
Christmas itself.

Yes, history might be right about such actions on the part of the
then Emperor, but there is nothing a man can do that bypasses
God. Oftentimes, unconsciously men tend to fulfill God’s will out
of their own personal agenda. They go all about with their own
personal intentions for selfish interest and God use their plan to
fulfill His divine plan. What do we have to say about the
Crucifixion of Jesus Christ? Men were trying to terminate the life of
a supposedly rebellious fellow, but with the success of their
actions came the success of God’s divine plan for humanity.

December 25, or whatsoever date as it were was God’s initiation

and intention, it was His design for man, not necessarily man-
made. This is one of the reasons we lose the essence of
Christmas; we think the day is man-made, so we celebrate it with
man-made patterns instead of the divine pattern.

Christmas is God’s way of telling you that He still loves you, no

matter what. No matter how corrupt the state of the world is,
Christmas is God’s way of saying I still love you the way I first
loved you when I created you; the way I loved you when you fell
through Adam, the way I loved you when I sent my only begotten
Son to pay the price for your salvation. By Christmas, as He will
always do every passing day on earth, God is still making it clear
to mankind this truth, “He loves us”. He is still going to continue
all through the day He has allowed us to exist, until we return to
Him. Christmas, the day, only brings this love more obvious to us
and writes it on the wall that we will give an account one day of
what we did with this love that have been revealed to us.

Christmas is God’s love shown to you, no matter who you are.

There are no barriers in Christmas; race, creed, color, culture,
custom, tradition, politics and whatsoever. God is showing you
that He loves you no matter how you relate with Him presently.
Christmas is God’s love revealed in His only Son, Jesus. This
revelation was only brought to the lime light in His birth. It has
been there for so long, ever before His birth and this revelation
was finally consummated on the Cross. On the Cross God finally
gave His only begotten Son. On the Cross He turned His son off
completely. He was not with Him; He gave Him up totally at that
point when His Son bore the sin of the world. This is the reason it
will be so foolish for us to stop our thanksgiving service for the
giving of the Son of God on December 25 or the Sunday after it.
God did not stop giving His son at the time He was given birth to
(if you share the rationale that it was at this time that He was
given birth to or a time close to this date). He did not stop even at
the Cross; He is still in the act of giving His son, to those who
want to receive Him. He wants to give His son to you now if you
are ready to receive Him.

For God, Everyday is Christmas because He gives Christmas to

men in their millions everyday as they seek Him. On the day
Christ was born on earth, God only showed man what He wants to
give for His redemption. Christmas was the beginning of God’s
new way of showing man that He still loves him no matter what. It
was not the time to celebrate yet, until He Son finally gains the
victory, and then He will celebrate, even though He knows victory
was sure.

Unlike us that our Christmas highlights the height and the best of
what we can give and it is all just for that day alone, God’s
Christmas was just the beginning of it all. Jesus is not just all He
wants to give to us. He is only the beginning of and the means to
the “All things” He wants to give to us.

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him
up for us all-- how will he not also, along with him,
graciously give us all things?

Romans 8:32
Christmas is not the height of His giving, though it is the best, but
there are still more things to give and He throws it at us each day
keeping lots more for those who have accepted His first gift in
heaven.

Is your Christmas not just about the best I can do, and want to do
this day (December 25th), after this there is nothing more until the
next season. Christmas should look like this- this is the type of
what I will be giving henceforth; this is the beginning of my
givings, more is yet to come.
 Chapter THREE

KING XERXES’ EXAMPLE

This is what happened during the time of Xerxes,
the Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces
stretching from India to Cush. At that time King
Xerxes reigned from his royal throne in one
Citadel of Susa, and in the third year of his reign
he gave a banquet for all his nobles and officials.
The military leaders of Persia and media, the
princes, and the nobles of the provinces were
present. For a full 180 days he displayed the vast
wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory
of his majesty, when these days were over, the
king gave a banquet, lasting seven days, in the
enclosed garden of the king’s palace, for all the
people from the least to the greatest, who were in
the citadel of Susa. By the king’s command each
guest was allowed to drink in his own way. For the
king instructed all the wine stewards to serve each
man he wished. Queen Vashti also gave a banquet
for the woman in the royal palace of king Xerxes.

On the seventh day, when king Xerxes was in high

spirit from wine, he commanded the seven
eunuchs who served him…to bring before him
Queen Vashti, wearing her royal crown, in order to
display her beauty to the people and nobles, for
she was lovely to look at. But when the attendant
delivered the king’s command, Queen Vashti
refused to come. Then the king became furious
and burned with anger….

Esther 1:1-22
There are several accounts of Kings in biblical times showing good
gestures to their citizens at a particular time or in a particular
time. David (2Samuel 3:20) and Solomon (1Kings 8:65) were
typical examples. The account of King Xerxes’s story is very
elaborate and it suggests a kind of the festivities that Christmas
highlights.

King Xerxes at a time planned to celebrate his kingdom and reign.

The feast was all about revealing his glory and splendor. He did
this for 187 days. He prepared delicacies for a large number of
people, but not all of his citizens. It was just about feasting with
some selected few, people living in the citadel of Susa and across
his provinces. He did all to make them happy as their king.

His feast was all practically a show off, much like a President who
invited dignitaries into his land to show them the beauty of the
land in order to gain some respect and applause. His primary
purpose is that the people can come invest into his land, become
his ally and the likes. It was nothing but for selfish gains than
blessing others.

Yes, the days of such feasting would be remembered, but not for
long, because it did not have a lasting impression on the hearts of
the people in the land directly. Those who were invited would
desire that the king would make it a yearly thing, so that they can
come next year to see a better feast something they can take
home to better the lives of their own people.

The funny thing in all of this was that the 187 days fasting was
not actually for those who needed the meals, those in poverty,
orphans, widows, the hungry and the likes. It was prepared for
those who already had stable meals on their table. It was meant
for nobles, princes, military leaders and others. It was only in the
later part of the 187 days that the people living in the citadel
were celebrated possibly for hosting the first 180 days. The king
gave them seven days of rest and feasting. Still these were
blessed people of the middle class. The food and drinks will have
only little impact on their lives. They will drink wine to stupor just
because it was made available to them and they will not be
paying for it directly.

Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler whoever is

led astray by them is not wise.

Proverbs 20:1

If you are good at loving people by giving them wine, or you are
good at receiving love from people by drinking wine at their
tables, you are not wise just as they are not.

King Xerxes also participated in this; he gave them the wine and
filled himself up with it, until he became possessed by it to the
level of lusting after and showing the height of his wealth and
splendor. He asked Queen Vashti to come and show off her beauty
to his guests.

Fair enough, a lot have been said and written about the pride of
this woman. How proud she was not to heed to the call of her
husband the moment she was needed the most. At the height of
such celebration, her coming would have sealed it all. King Xerxes
would have been glorified as possessing the most beautiful object
in the world. Vashti was his most prized possession, the object of
his own pride. Truly what he requested her to do was not a wrong
thing, it is part of the tradition of the land, great man, kings and
generals, show forth their glory in this manner, but I ask, what
greatness is in lust after being glorified as a result of the infilling
of wine. God did not parade Jesus or just show Him off to the
world; He gave Him completely. Xerxes on the other hand was just
parading not giving what He priced the most.

It is not for kings, O Lemuel! Not for kings to drink

wine. Not for rulers to crave beer lest they drink
and forget what the law decrees, and deprive all
 the oppressed of their rights. Give beer to those
who are perishing, wine to those who are in
anguish, let them drink and forget their poverty
and remember their misery no more.

Proverbs 31:4-7

Is it possible to forget poverty of the heart by taking wine? No

way, give it to them in million of jars, their poverty will yet be
remembered. I tell you he who tries forgetting his poverty (of the
heart) in this manner will only have it doubled. Remembering our
misery and poverty at times helps us to search for a permanent
way out.

Is this not what happens at Christmas today? Men settle for the
jars of wine at December 25, so they can forget their poverty.
They drink much so to drown their sorrows as they prepare to
enter into the New Year. My opinion candidly is that such people
should prepare to bear the weight of doubled their poverty in the
year they are preparing for in the wrong way.

Because of their poverty, these poor fellows went to King Xerxes’

Christmas party to wine and dine thinking this would settle their
crisis since they will not pay any dime for the drinks. I tell you
that the wine they will take there will help multiplying their
sorrows.

King Xerxes presentation of Vashti would have been the order of

the day for those who were there. If the queen had come out that
day, the rest officials would have both gone home lusting after
her and using that against their wives at home. That would have
made their wives an object of reproach in their sight because they
are not in any way like Vashti. How can a man already given to
stupor look at a woman decently without lusting after her. They
were all drunk, yet Xerxes sees it a good thing to present his
precious jewel in the sight if drunkards. For Vashti, it was a matter
of feminine abuse. Remember that she also hosted the woman of
the royal court in a banquet.

Yes, this queen’s disregard of her husband’s command should be

punished, but what sort of command is one that came out of an
infilling with wine. Am I saying that women should disregard their
husband in their drunken state? No! Nevertheless, I say this
boldly; any man giving to wine should not stand in the position of
authority no matter how small it is.

On the seventh day, when King Xerxes was in high

spirit from wine, he commanded the seven
eunuchs who served him- Mehuman, Bistha,
Abagtha, Zethar and Carcas- to bring before him
Queen Vashti, wearing her royal crown, in order to
display her beauty to the people and nobles, for
she was lovely to look at.

God did not send His Son out to this world on Christmas to display
Him. He did not come to this world because He was lovely to look
at. His presentation by God was not out of the high spirits from
wine, it was something else entirely. At that point in time, God
was showing the world that He so much loved them, which was
not in king Xerxes’ case. He was presenting His Son for a definite
purpose. He was giving off His Son and not showing him off. He
was not just hosting a 187 days to honor the world; He was
presenting to them an everlasting feast. Sending His Son to the
world was to bring men back to His presence eternally not just
momentarily.

Who has believed our message and to whom has

the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up
before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out
of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to
attract us to him nothing in his appearance that
we should desire him. He was despised and
 rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar
with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their
faces, he was despised and we esteemed him not.

Isaiah 53:1-3

The Son God presented to the world was truly the height of His
glory, but He did not present Him as such. He was not presenting
Him so that men might praise or glorify Him like Xerxes wished in
his presentation of Vashti. He was not doing it for any selfish gain.
Instead, He gave His son freely for our salvation. It was all for
love, the Love He loved us.

Xerxes did Something Better

If you read the account of the life of this king Xerxes to the end,
you will see that he showed a different worth of love through
Esther the new Queen after Vashti was sent out of the palace for
her pride and disobedience. Chapter five through to the tenth
chapter of the same book tells of the evil Haman plotted against
the Jews. How he lured the king into selling off the Jews to death
with his own hands. He gave his seal (the irrevocable Yes decree)
to the death warrant of the Jews under his jurisdiction then.

Something about the wine came up again but on this occasion, it

was for a different reason. Queen Esther after lots of intercession
(standing in the gap for her people leading to the unexpected
show of mercy by the king as he allowed Esther into his presence
unrequested) prepared a banquet for the King and Haman. This
was just a two-day banquet unlike the 187 days feast that the
king prepared earlier.

Esther’s banquet was not for merry making, it was not a show off,
not the time to exploit the interest of the people by giving them
wine instead of granting them their basic social needs; it was not
a funfair at all. All Esther’s banquet meant was a salvation plan
for the Jews. She was able to win the king’s favor for the first time
as the king granted her audience in his presence. Now the
banquet was to bring the King to Esther’s presence; it was to set
the mood for Esther’s request for the salvation of her people.

Yes, she gave them wine to drink, but it was not to tune them off
into stupor and lustful madness. She placed them on royal menu;
both the savior and her people’s enemy. Of a truth when we feed
our enemies with the best of love that we have, they will become
full until they get busted. Christmas is not the love of God shown
to the good alone. When God sent Jesus, the best wine ever, He
was sent to the wicked. There was no one who can be identified
as good at that time; we were all sinners (Romans 5:8).

The first day of the banquet, she said nothing, she only allowed
the king to enjoy himself, as well as the enemy. The enemy took
pride in that opportunity, told the whole world about it and waited
for the next day. For Esther, the first day was just to set the stage.
She wants it to be obvious that the banquet was not just about
her request but also her gratitude towards the favor that the king
granted her.

How we all need to learn this gracious attitude! We do not just

need to go into the presence of God to bombard Him with our
many requests for solutions concerning our problems. How we
need to enter His gate with thanksgiving and His courts with
praise, giving thanks to Him and praising His name (Psalm 100:4).
We need to cultivate this attitude of gratitude for who God really
is in our lives and for the numerous blessings, He has granted us.
It is a great privilege to have access to His presence and to be
called His own. Similarly, there should be another day to do good.
Goodness must not be tied to just a day; there should be another
day after the first day, another day after the second day. In all
there must always be the “another day”.

We miss the opportunity to see God really exalted in our praises,

because even the time we set aside to religiously praise Him, we
spoil with what we end our period of praise with; petitions upon
petitions, complaints upon complaints. Praise and thanksgiving
will do their works if we allow them to go freely without any
additions.

Do you know that some people use the Christmas day to make
their request known to God? Maybe you are one of such people
who still ask God for lots of things this day. At least let us take it
that we have tried to set aside that day to honor God for what He
has done and honor others for what God has done. After God has
given us all things; we then agree that Christmas should be a day
to praise Him, yet we steal out of this time to stay on mountains,
valleys, religious gathering seeking for what is not from the God,
instead of using that moment in service unto Him for the gift He
has given. This day should be one when we lay down our lives
again, rededicate our hearts in worship (service) to God. A time to
say God you have given so much, yet I have given nothing; take
all that I have and all that I am.

This was Esther’s attitude the first day. She just made herself
available for the king and her second guest. She was there just to
serve both of them. When she was asked to make her request
known even up to half of the kingdom, her reply was, “my petition
and my request is this; if the king regards me with favor and if it
pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the
king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for
them. Then I will answer the king’s question” (Esther5:7-8). I
guess no one would want to miss such an opportunity. Any
ordinary individual given anything close to this will pour out all
that has been piled up in his/her heart instantly. It was the king
who asked her to make her request not just an ordinary man.
Unlike the girl who was lured into asking for the head of John the
Baptist at a time like hers, Esther only asked for another day to be
of service to the king and Haman then she will make her request
known. She does not want to spoil the atmosphere already given.
She knew that she had already won the king’s heart, so she wants
to keep it that way believing that God was on her side.

When the second day came, she did not go all out immediately,
she also gave them wine in the banquet. This was not the wine he
(the king) took earlier while he hosted the 187 days festival; it
was a pleasurable wine, a wine poured out of love. He never
drank it to stupor; he was not in high spirit when he asked the
queen what her petition was.

Such wine of love poured out to God from our heart goes a long
way to bring Him hastingly into our situation. We do not need to
say much before He comes to our rescue.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers in view of God’s

mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices,
holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act
of worship.

Romans 12:1

If we pour out our lives in worship to God, He is ready to do the

same for us all over again. Already, He knows what we are going
through; He sees it all, but how well do we trust Him to leave
everything, laying it all at His altar and not minding what happens
next?

Esther could let the case of her people who her in a dying state
wait for another day, because she was so sure that at the end
everything will turn into her favor. She was so sure that the battle
has already been won in the place of prayer. The king has favored
her so much and that is all that matters.

There was no delay when she made her request that day. Her
people were rescued (saved) instantly and the enemy was made
to pay the price for treason with his life. He never knew Queen
Esther was part of the people he hated. He thought he was
fighting against Mordecai and his people alone. He did not know
the savior of the Jews was in the royal court. It was an unfortunate
end for him though he has been warned earlier.

His adviser and his wife Zeresh said to him, “Since

Mordecai, before whom your downfall has started,
is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him-
you will surely come to ruin!

Esther 6:13

Esther’s banquet was not for entertainment, it was deliberate and

purposeful. It was not for self or vainglory; it was not for
exhibiting herself or how well she can cook. She was all out for
the salvation of her people. This was unlike the banquet queen
Vashti hosted, unlike the one king Xerxes hosted; it was a banquet
aimed at the deliverance of those in bondage.

Christmas is not like king Xerxes’ banquet or that of queen Vashti.

Esther’s banquet is quite close to it, because the victory it won
was celebrated beyond that time. That banquet is remembered
even now. The Jews still celebrate the Purim today because of the
victory won for them starting from the banquet of Esther. Yes, it
was after they fought for their lives that the victory was given, but
if there was no banquet from Queen Esther, there might not be
the opportunity to fight to victory for their lives (Esther 9: 1-32).

Purim is a type of Christmas, a celebration of the hope that was

lost and of life regained. The Jew has been sold to death and it
was like there was no way out; but God came to their rescue. The
Jews took it upon themselves to establish the custom that they
and their descendants and all who joined them should observe
and reflect on this victory every year, in the way prescribed and
at the time appointed.

These days should be remembered and observed

in every generation by every family and in every
province and in every city. And these days of
 Purim should never cease to be celebrated by the
Jews, nor should the memory of them die out
among their descendants.

Esther 9:27-28

The Jews in Susa however, had assembled on the

thirteenth and fourteenth and then on the
fifteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting
and joy. That is why rural Jews-those living in
villages-observe the fourteenth of the month of
Adar as a day of joy and feasting; a day for giving
present to each other.

Esther 9: 18-19.

Fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar became days of purposeful

feasting and rejoicing. These people had their first Christmas and
Boxing Day. They observe these days as days of feasting and
sharing gifts. Our Boxing Day truly had a good background.
However, we hold this day to another historical background and
have designed different occasions around it. The Jews celebrated
because they were delivered from the claws of death. Even the
next generation that came later followed this custom because if
the initial generation was not delivered, they would not have been
in existence.

Why do you celebrate Christmas? Why do you feast and rejoice?

For what purpose do you call your friends and families to come
around to rejoice with you? Yes, you do so because Jesus Christ
was given to humanity, not because He has been given to you
personally. Christmas is only worth celebrating if its essence has
been made revealed and fulfilled in your life, if you have had a
personal experience of the coming of the Son of God into your life
as an individual. Christmas, the day you celebrate it, makes no
sense if you have not been delivered from the claws of sin and
eternal death. If Jesus has not been giving birth to in your life,
then what you are remembering and celebrating is not Christmas.

When Mary was told that she would give birth to

Jesus Christ, she asked the angel “how will this be,
since I am a virgin?” The angel answered her “the
Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of
the Most High will overshadow you, so the holy
One to be born will be called the Son of God.”

Luke 1:35

If the Son has not been born in you, if He has not delivered you
from the bondage of sin and the eternal death warrant that has
been signed and sealed concerning your life, your Christmas
celebration is worthless, it makes no sense, it will only be a feast
and festivity, not a banquet unto the King of kings.
 Chapter FOUR

MERRY CHRISTMAS
When you say merry Christmas next time, ask yourself truly if
there is anything to make merry about. Our world today is filled
with lots and lots of false merrying, people say merry Christmas
without having anything cogent to make merry for, except for
some few who has made tangible success out of the year before
December 25 and those who want to appreciate God at least for
saving them through another year. Merry Christmas and a Happy
New Year in advance! Is there anything true to make merry for
and about.

For God so loved the world that He gave is one

and only Son…

John 3:16

We are familiar with this statement and can even recite it clearly,
but I tell you most of us do not have it written on our heart yet.
Only those who have this statement written clearly on the tablet
of their hearts will have something to merry for not just on
December 25, but all the days of their lives.
Looking at the statement clearly, “for God so loved the world”, do
you truly believe that God loves you or perhaps if you claim you
do, do you truly understand what it means that God so love you,
not just you alone, but the world?

Are you not among those who sit alone on Christmas asking
themselves, “Does God truly love me, if He does, why did He
allow all the sufferings in my life, why do I have to go through my
life struggling and trying to survive, is that all that His love
means?” You know that many people ask these questions even on
Christmas day. If God truly loved the world, why the calamities,
why the natural disasters, pains and sufferings, why the diseases
and sickness, why the wars and all forms of crisis? How can God
so loved the world yet allow all these things?

The World God Loves

Until we understand the nature of the world that God loves, we

cannot really understand God’s love. The world is not what you
think it is, not now, then or ever before. The world has never
merited God’s love, and He only loved because of who He is. With
what the world has become today, God still so loves the world.

In the beginning, God created the world (earth) and everything in

it for His pleasure. He wants to take pleasure in all that exist, past
and present. If He did not love this world, He would not have
thought about creating it at first. In the text we are considering
(John 3:16), the word “world” in there implies the people of this
world, not the system or places God does not love the system of
this present world because man has given its control to the devil.
The devil is the one who influences the thought of humans who
think they are the one in control. He is interested in the
geographical state of this masterpiece (earth) that He designed,
but not as much as He is for the people in it. He created the earth
(space) for man, not man for the earth. What concerns God most
is the man He created inside the earth.

In the beginning, there was no other system controlling the earth

than that of God Himself. It was a theocratic rule (God has the
head of the theocracy). Man has dominion over all that God
created as much as God has allowed him. There was no other
system, no worldly system, only God is Lord over all. There was
nothing called evil, only good reigned. There was nothing called
suffering and pain, no sickness or disease, no crisis, no natural
disaster, no calamity, no war. There was nothing against the
peaceful order and co-existence of the human race.

Man was placed in charge of all God created. He was given

dominion because God so loved him. When we speak of “the
world”, humanity, man is highly referenced. Why this gigantic
edifice, why the earth, if not because of man? The earth is
important because man resides in it. It will not take God anything
to make this earth non-existing and possibly bring another one
into existence. This is actually what He will do soon. May I let you
know that soon this earth as it is now will pass away, it will
become non-existing, it will be , to put it in the right perspective,
and a new one will be made.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the

first heaven and the first earth had passed away
and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy
city, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully
dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice
from the throne saying “Now the dwelling of God
is with men and He will live with them. They will
be His people and God Himself will be with them
and He will be their God. He will wipe every tear
from their eyes. There will be no more death or
 mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of
things has passed away.

Revelations 21: 1-4

Praise God! This is not how things will continue. This old order will
soon pass away; and you have to choose if you will pass away
with it or not. What you see now, all you are accusing God for, all
suffering and all sort, will pass away. A new world order is coming
soon, a new earth, a Holy city where God will dwell with man, no
more pain, sorrow, all that is here present, named as evil will pass
away. You need not wait to see it happen, before you join the
people who are getting ready for this new order. You can join now.
Give your life to Jesus Christ, so that He can give His life to you.
Only those with the life of Christ will experience this new order.

Now we are back to the beginning where man was given dominion
over everything. He was created to be in charge, he was the head
over all as God was his head. God made him rule freely. God gave
him the hand of fellowship. He was not just man; he was god on
earth.

Then God said, “ let Us make man in our image, in

our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the
sea and the birds of the air, over the live stock,
over all the earth, and over all the creature that
move along the ground. So God created man in
His own image, in the image of God He created
him; male and female he created them.

Genesis 1: 26-27

Man was in charge. God gave him the earth that He created and
his task was to tend and care for a portion of it; Eden (Gen. 2: 1-
25). He was given everything he needed, the authority, the right
of ownership and all that pertains to such. He was given the
helpmeet he needed. Everything was at his beckon call. He lacked
nothing. The earth was in his hand to recreate to his taste. God
loved him so much that He placed in his hands all that he created.

There is one more part to what God created, that is the devil,
Lucifer. He is part of God’s creation, and he is not left out of what
God placed in the charge of man. He was already on earth before
man came, and God placed man over all that was on earth before
he came into it, the devil inclusive.

The devil was one special thing in heaven before pride filled his
heart and he was thrown down to the earth. At first, what was in
his mind was how to come over God; I mean become greater than
God (Isaiah 14:12-15), but he was thrown downward. This meant,
he will not just be under God, he will also be under man. This new
development sounded ridiculous to him. If he cannot be over God,
then he will not allow what God created like him to be over him.
Thus, the battle of supremacy was raised; man versus the devil.
God already knew about this battle and will always act the
impartial judge. God has blessed the man with all he needed to
win this battle. He has given him His word and His love, which
stands above all things. He made him in His image, meaning, he
has in his possession more than the devil has. In him (the man)
was the breath of life which was not in the devil. The devil though
was created out of beautify stones; man was made in the nature
of God. He was god on earth at that particular time. He was ahead
of the devil in all direction, thus, the head over all that exists on
earth. Therefore, God was sure His man will not lose; for God, it
was a settled deal. The devil lost in heaven (Rev. 12:7-12), so it
was evident he will lose on earth.

God set the ground of the battle. For Him, it was not a battle;
rather it was His way to approve of the man. He was ready to
show forth the man not to show him off. He loved the man so
much to have been so sure that he would do what is right. This
also does not suggest His partial knowledge of what will be the
outcome. For God, whatsoever the outcome is, it will still end in
the favor (for the good) of the man He created in His image.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the
Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And
the Lord God commanded the man, “you are free
to ea from any tree in the garden; but you must
not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil, for when you eat it you will surely die.”

Genesis 2:15-17

What God did in the case of Adam, He also did for Job. Job’s tale
reveals God’s love for him in a dimension, which the men of this
world have not yet understood. God released His man into the
hand of the devil because He was sure of this man. God does not
love you less when He allows you to go through suffering. He is all
wise and so wise to know that you might not understand His
dealing thus, hate or dislike Him. God knows that you want Him to
do only good and allow goodness to visit your life all the time and
this might make you love Him. However, His ways and thoughts
are different from yours.

“Then the Lord said to Satan, ‘have you

considered my servant Job? There is no one on
earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man
who fears God and shuns evil.

Job 1:8

At some point in Job’s story, it was as if God was not being fair. It
was as if He hated Job but the latter end of the story made it clear
God so loved Job. With his life, God has revealed Himself to
humanity in that dimension. When it seems God is not making
sense in your life is when the best of all sense is being made. At
some point in your life, if it seems that God is not there again, as
if He is absent or not caring; may I let you know that He is so
much present and the end of the story will tell it all. If you would
just allow Him, what He will produce out of that life of yours which
seems to be in the mud at the present will be so glorious. He is
always there when it seems He is not.

God allowed the devil to come into Eden, He allowed him to put
the man into the test. The outright truth is that the devil is not
necessarily against the man; his challenge is towards God. He
only want to tell God He has wasted His time in creating man, that
he will make the man to disobey Him and God by that will
decrease His love for him, then he can accuse God of hatred. His
victory will be gained when he can see any wrong or charge
against God.

The third chapter of Genesis showed how the devil came with his
challenge. All he did was to accuse God of wrongdoing to the face
of the man. He did so well to show Eve that God did not so love
them, that God was hiding something from them. He represented
God as the evil one and himself as the friend of the woman.

“You will not surely die”, the serpent said to the

woman, “for God knows that when you eat of it
your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God:
knowing the good from the bad.”

Genesis 3:4-5

“God does not want you to become like Him; the reason He told
you not to partake in the fellowship of this precious fruit” so Satan
suggested. What a beautiful way to tell the woman that God is
partial, He does not love you and your husband; He is only
pretending to.

Whatsoever that is of this earth, beneath it or beyond that argues

against God’s love over your life, which tries to limit His love or
show you that God does not love you a bit, is the devil. His
deceits are aimed at limiting God’s love over our lives. He is
seriously at this work; he has been since he was thrown down
from heaven and he is still at it. He raises some circumstances to
confront us so that he can come behind our backs to act as the
good friend. He is not a friend; he has never been, he has always
been and will always be the foe he is. Do not fall for his deceits.

Eve fell for the deceits of the devil’s trick and Adam joined her.
Immediately the devil started jubilating thinking he has won. He
thought the battle was over. If the man failed God, then he will
become the one in charge, since next to man in the order of
creation as it pertain to what is on earth is the devil. No matter
what he did there in heaven, God did not recreate him, He did not
take from him what he gave to him: for God’s gifts are without
recompense. The devil knew about this, but the man possibly did
not. The devil used this against him and at that point, he thought
he had won.

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and

they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig
leaves together and made covering for
themselves.

Genesis 3:7

There is no problem if they realized they were naked. There is no

problem that they tried with the human wisdom they have now
gained to cover this nakedness. The challenge in their account
only arose when they refused to show God their state. They were
too shy to tell God they have become naked that the devil has
stripped them naked and have triumphed over them. They
thought all was over.

God came to the scene to show them there is still a way out of
their mess. He came around to show them that no matter what,
He still loves them. All they need to do is to stop seeking help by
their strength and trust in Him who alone can help them. All they
needed to do is to come to him who can cover their nakedness in
its totality. The devil never saw that coming. He was waiting for
their complete exoneration from the God’s presence, as it was his
case. He never knew God can still take them back at that moment
if they can turn to Him.

“Come now let us reason together,” Says the Lord

“though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as
white as snow; though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.

Isaiah 1:18

God can and He did call them into fellowship with Him as usual,
nothing has changed yet in the sight of God, even if they had
eaten out of the forbidden fruit, He so much loved them beyond
the thought of the devil. This is unimaginable. Why would a King
who has been disobeyed call His servant still to come and dine
with Him? God so loved Adam and Eve even at this stage.

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the
Lord God as He was walking in the garden in the
cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God
among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God
called to the man, “where are you?” the answer, “I
heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I
was naked; so I hid” and He said “who told you
that you are naked, have you eaten from the tree I
commanded you not to eat from?” The man said
“the woman you put here with me-she gave me
some fruit from the tree and I ate it.” The Lord
God said to the woman, “what is this that you
have done?” The woman said, “The serpent
deceived me and I ate”.

Genesis 3:8-13
One of the gracious benefits we have received from God is that
we can still hear Him speak even in our sinful state. He still
speaks and we can still hear him. You are hearing Him now that is
if you have not heard Him before. He does not stop talking about
His love for you and you have ears open to hear Him. He still
speaks through the conscience that He created within you.

What Adam and Eve did in Eden should stop them from hearing
God. It should cut them completely from God. They should not be
able to see God or hear Him again; but God was still gracious to
them, they could still hear Him. In the human world when a man
hates you, he stops talking to and with you; he stops seeing you.
It is not so in God’s case; He keeps talking even when we have
disobeyed Him. We can stop hearing Him; He never stops talking.
Adam and Eve were afraid of God, an evidence of the fact that
they have been corrupted by the world system. In God, there is no
fear in love. Though, they hid themselves, still God called them
out. They were the ones who ought to search for God, it was God
sought for them because He so much loved them.

“Adam, where are you?” God called out. What is your stand, are
you here or there, still with me or with the enemy, where are you
Adam? I know that you have lost your position, but where do you
want to stand. Men are not answering this big question correctly
today. You do not know your position outrightly; you think you are
in the world, on earth, not knowing that you are in the kingdom of
darkness. It is not just about the earth anymore. That is not
human position anymore. His real position is the kingdom of the
devil, in outright darkness.

For you were once darkness, but now you are light
in the Lord; live as children of light.

Ephesians 5:8

Adam failed to confirm his new spiritual status; he thought he was

just hiding among the trees. ‘I was naked, so I hid.’ This is a new
knowledge, the knowledge of evil. To be naked is not evil but to
be naked and feel shame that will cause you to hide is evil. To be
naked and feel shame meant that the man by himself took off
God’s glory that he was adorned with. Being naked to the point of
shame in the spiritual sense is to take off God’s covering over
your life. Adam did not just take God’s nature off; he handed it
over to the devil and that one soiled it in the mud of sin and
handed it back to him.

‘Who told you’, God asked. Whatsoever God did not say in His
word, whatsoever He has not tell you is evil, it is the lie of the
enemy. If you accept it or allow it into your thought (conscious or
subconscious), it will end up turning you into a form of nakedness
that breeds shame and separation from God. Do not allow the
words of the enemy into your mind. Who told you that your
sickness would lead to death? Who told you that there is no way
out of your poverty-stricken state? Who told you that your state is
even called poverty? Who told you that without money you could
not be at your best on earth; that you have to do all that is
possible by human strength to get money at all cost? Who told
you that there is no hell or heaven, that all there is, is this earth?
Who told you that you are not a sinner? Who told you what is
driving you so crazy now, the principle that has become so
dominate, the controlling factor of your life? Whatsoever God did
not tell you is a lie no matter how good and reasonable it seems.
What makes you what you are now, what has kept you at the
state you are presently is what you did not hear from God that
you have held so much to. Who told you there is no God or God
does not love you? Someone else did, not God.

You need to dwell on what God told you. It is only what He says
that stands and can produce good in your life. Only His words last
forever, only His words stand unchanging. Anything you learn
from this world system, anything that originate from human
wisdom, will not last forever. No matter how good it seems, it has
an expiring date, it will not last the test of time, soon another will
be formulated, because all that is here and now is but temporal.
No human idea or invention is outrightly everlasting, nothing on
earth is eternal. So what is your life depended upon, what is the
ground of your existence, what God has said or what man and his
tradition, customs, norms and all is saying. Is your life based on
what has been said or what is being said? Again, I ask ‘who told
you what you believe?

Dear servant of God- preachers and teachers, apostles, prophets

and evangelists; who told you what you are telling God’s people?
Where do your thoughts and words originate? On what and whose
authority did you say what you have said all this while to Go’s
people? You need to check again. What you have been saying?
Everything that does not come from God will not only perish, it
will make the speaker and hearers perish. You will be held
accountable for as little as one jot and tittle of what you say.
Nothing you say shall pass away; you will surely stand in God’s
presence one day to give an account for all you have said in God’s
name.

God asked Adam and Eve a direct and simple question, ‘Have you
eaten out from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?’ I
guess what Adam’s response should be is, “Yes Sir, I have!’ I am
the one Sir; I hate it and have disobeyed your command. I am not
worthy to be called your son again, not worthy of your mercy, just
make me one of your servants.” I have lost it, I have missed the
mark, I tended to the weakness of my wife instead of helping her
while I was still strong, I allowed her weakness to make me weak,
I am sorry, I bury myself in dust.

No devil can stand in judgment against us if we confess our sin

out of deep conviction. God will always be merciful to those who
seek His face this way.
 If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and
confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His
own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins
[dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously]
cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything
not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought,
and action].

1John 1:9 (Amplified)

The prodigal son in Jesus parable took to this and the end brought
him great profit (Luke 15:11-27).

"Come now, let us reason together," says the

LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they
shall be as white as snow; though they are red as
crimson, they shall be like wool.

Isaiah 1:18

Unto the woman God said, ‘What is this you have done?’ so
different from what He asked the man. “Sir, I gave it to him, I
betrayed his trust, I was not a good help at that moment. I
opened the door of our home and marriage into the hands of a
stranger. I failed You and the man you placed me under. I was not
the helpmeet has intended, I am so sorry, please forgive me,
forgive us.” This would have settled it all; the drama would have
ended so well as at that time.

Instead of coming just as they were without any excuse, they

came complaining and blaming. The Man accused God of
unrighteousness just as the devil expected of him. He indirectly
accused God of giving him a woman that caused his fall. He failed
God because of the gift God gave to him not because he chose to,
what a strong ground of argument and defense.

How far have you gone with accusing God what you have done
and for those things happening in your life? Was it not because He
gave you hands that you could hold a gun with to shoot someone
else to death? Would you not consider your state as miserable if
He decides not to give you a hand at all? Would you not complain
if you were involved in an accident and your hands have to be
amputated? Was it not because He gave you a good job and
access to wealth that you do not have quality time for Him again?
If He denied you this good job would you not still blame Him? Men
have truly gotten to the state of not appreciating whatsoever God
does. Even if He does the best of His hand and it seems not to
appeal to their lust they will blame God. We blame God for all
disasters, killings, even war whereas we are the ones executing
these things.

Adam and Eve were just running their mouths, complaining

instead of confessing, showing what God has done wrong instead
of seeing what they have done wrong and whom they have
become. At this point, the devil thought he has won. He was
waiting for what God will do so he can gain a chance of accusing
him for wrongdoing or injustice. For him it was not just about
defeating the man, his target was God as it is till date. The devil
believed it was over for the human race, but he failed because he
did not know the measure of God’s love for them. That the devil
to triumph over them in the matter of the forbidden fruits of the
tree does not mean He will outrightly cast them away. The devil
failed because he does not know the extent of God’s love for man.
Even up-to-date as it will be forever he does not know the
measure of God’s love for man, what he tries to do is to deceive
man from seeing this since he can no longer access this precious
love.

When God disciplined Adam and Eve, the devil thought it was
over, he did not know the blessings that are piled up in God’s
discipline. Adam and Eve did one thing right, they received God’s
discipline without any complain. When they saw God loved them
so much they gave away their fear and humbly received God’s
judgments as discipline. It was not written that they furthered
their arguments or complained while the terms of their discipline
were issued out to them. They received it with joy, even when
what they had to go through as discipline was not palatable.

And you have forgotten that word of

encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My
son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and
do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because
the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he
punishes everyone he accepts as a son." Endure
hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons.
For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you
are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes
discipline), then you are illegitimate children and
not true sons.

Hebrews 12:5-8

God disciplined them because He so much loved’ them. The devil

was caught by surprised when his terms of rebuke (punishment)
were pronounced.

And I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and hers; he will crush
your head, and you will strike his heel."

Genesis 3:15

This was the height of God’s love revealed. God dealt with the
cause and initiator of the downfall of His Children first before
disciplining them. He gave the serpent an unforgettable blow
which will become manifest when he least expected. Before the
devil can gain a full ownership of the earth, he must fight for it on
the right ground. His offspring and that of the woman he deceived
must battle against each other since the ownership of the earth in
contention would be their heritage eventually. Whoever wins will
become the Lord over all. With this, the devil knew God is better
than he is and has outwitted him on all grounds.

God’s integrity was at stake in making this judgment. He showed

the devil why He is the judge over all, one in whom there is no
partiality, one who cannot be accused of any wrong because there
is no wrong in Him. If you are still wasting your time to accuse
God for this and that or you are trying to find a fault in what He
does, you are only running your race in the track of the devil.

The judgment of God is true and lovely. When man fell, God
continued with him where there relationship was paused. He was
ready to fulfill all His intention concerning him. Even after we
have eaten the fruit for we all committed this act of rebellion
through Adam (Romans 5:14), God still had us in His mind. God so
loved us. Why we find it so hard to know and accept God’s love is
because of the fruit we have partaking out of, this fruit makes us
fill we know all things as we should whereas we do not. The fruit
makes us full of pride. It makes us ignore true knowledge.
Though, we now have knowledge of good and evil yet we cannot
on our own create good.

Whatever we call love at present is drawn out of the evil that the
knowledge of good and evil has done to us. For us love is love
only when the result is good and when it is beneficial to the flesh,
at least for Eve the Serpent loved her, for if she saw it from the
other way round she would have rejected his advances. Our love
is temporal and can only be shown during good times. This is not
the same for God.

God loved man no matter what. When man demonstrated his

hatred for God, God demonstrated His love for him. When he
declared his rebellion God pronounced Christmas into existence.
Genesis 3:15 was the foundation of John 3:16. He promised it in
the formal and fulfilled it in the latter but he did this why man was
still in his wrong, still rebellious not changing from his ways.
 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:18

The seed was sown before the baby was given. Christmas was
already in the air in the Garden of Eden. It was so certain that the
baby would come because He has been sown as seed and God
will be faithful in His work of watching over the seed He has sown.
If He did not so much loved Man, thus the World which He created
because of him, He would not have done this much. While we
were yet sinners He pronounced our Christmas into existence.
While dealing with the first Sin man ever committed, He said
Christmas into existence. He need not wait till another sin is
committed.

God’s love for the world is His thought;

1. For our greatest and ultimate good

2. For then, now, the future and forever
3. For the whole world (the whole human race, right from the
beginning when we all were in Adam’s loins) not just a set of
people.

He has proven that He loves us, even if we do not accept this fact.
What he saved us from in the beginning was ETERNAL
DAMNATION. What should happen to man for what He did was
what happened to Lucifer when he rebelled in heaven (cf. Ezekiel
28:11-19). Man was supposed to be thrown into eternal darkness,
he was supposed to be cut off from God completely, it ought to be
an eternal termination, but God averted all of this, yet we say ‘He
does not love us’.

Let the world continue to complain, you do not need to join in this.
Receive His love even if others are rejecting it. The matter of
receiving the gift of His love is a personal thing. He did all He did
just because He loved you. Christmas was instituted aft Eden
because He loves you; you, not someone else. Settle the matter
in your life first. What are the things that still make you feel God
does not love you? What are those things denying you from
plunging into the depth of His love? Do you profess a form of love
to God while you are silently asking yourself, ‘Does God truly
loves me?’ You cannot say you love Him if you do not know His
love. You cannot truly know is love if you are just seeing things
with the eye of the present and not that of the past. You cannot
fully embrace the love Christmas brought If you are just
considering God’s love based on your present status alone (good
or bad), without looking into what you were in the past and what
He has in store for your future. You cannot fully understand God’s
love if you just limit is essence of His love to yourself alone. He
loves you because He loved the World. He loves the world
because He loved you.

Chapter Five

THE LOVE HE GAVE

Only God’s love that could give what He gave. He gave love; He
gave Himself because He is love. It would have been hard for Him
to give this type of love if not that He Himself was what He was to
give. It is for this reason He continues to give without ceasing; He
is love so He does not need to find what He already before He can
give it.
The issue of the love He gave is not just about what He gave but
how and why He did it. It is also more about whom the love is
given for and given to. It is also about the impact of this love on
the receiver. You cannot really know the worth of any gift if you do
not need it. If I give wealth to the wealthy, riches to the rich, food
to the fed, one who still has much in store to feed on, these sorts
of giving will amount to nothing. When I give to meet a need,
when my giving meets a particular need, and it was giving right
on time or when all hope seems to be lost, then giving is truly
giving. If my giving has no bias, if it was giving to the undeserving
and he who does not expect the gift, then I have truly giving.
When there is no selfish interest connected to it, not because of
what I want to get in return, then I have given.

God gave when all hope seemed lost, when man thought there
was no way out of his depravity. God gave to the needy man what
he needed most at the he needed this gift most. Man never knew
what he needed; it was God who showed him. He was helpless
and depraved though he thought he could help himself, but God
did not live him to himself.

Any love that does not give is not love, and any love that cannot
be given to all and anyone (everyone), anytime, anywhere and
anyhow is less than true love. Any love that cannot give all the
way is less than love. The test of any true love is not just in what
it can give, but more in the question of “to what extent can it give
and how far can it go on in the giving?”

The love of Christmas passed all these tests and more. It is love in
truth. It was an all the way love, no hate can stop it, no worth of
wickedness was enough to stop it. When the Son of God was
finally given birth to on earth, God showing His love, man still
showed God how wicked he has become. Herod the king tried all
he could to terminate the person of this Love (Matthew 2:1-23).
He was a good representation of how man was ready to show how
much he detests God’s love. Even with these things, God was
ready to reveal His love to him for like every man on earth; Herod
did not know what he was doing.

Christmas came as a mixture of God’s show of goodness towards

man and man’s unabated rebellious attitude towards God.
Through Christmas God showed how immense His love was and
how ready He is to give this love no matter what, because He was
the one who chose to show man his love, it was not man who
requested for it. We are not the one who first loved Him. He was
not giving this love to us because we loved Him but because He
knows we can love Him if given the chance. He made us as an
object of His love. He loved us even while we hated Him and
continued to do so. Can I add that God loves us more as we hate
Him more. Our hatred can by no means reduce the love He is
ready to give. With all of our show of rejecting this love, He still
loves us.

He is ready to continue to give, are you ready to receive and

continue to receive what He gives and as much as He is ready to
give. He is always ready to give; the problem is at the receiving
end. The only way that you can show God you love Him back is to
receive is love.

Your Christmas begins the day you receive this love into your life
and appropriate its essence into your life. When this happens, you
have opened your life to love ever flowing. You have gained
access to His eternal love. To such an individual, Christmas
becomes an everyday and every moment thing. Truly, everyday
can become a Christmas for you.

Christmas in God’s plan is a two-way thing; a two-way experience.

You experience Christmas as you receive love from Him and you
also experience Christmas as you give the love you have received
the same way you received it to others. He who follows this plan
always have an all round Christmas, there is never a break in this
season of his life.
Everyday is Christmas, because God wants to pour out His love on
us daily. The one, who releases Himself to receive this love,
becomes a tunnel where the love flows regularly.

Because of the LORD's great love we are not

consumed, for his compassions never fail. They
are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Lamentation 3:22-23

In heaven, there is an unending and unceasing Christmas. There

is joy in heaven when a sinner turns to God. This does not
necessarily have to be a 25 th of DECEMBER agenda or plan. They
do not plan to be joyful in heaven because it is a place of
everlasting joy (Luke 15:3-7).

The surprising thing is that even in the day that has been
religiously ascribed as Christmas on earth there might be no
Christmas technically in heaven. The type of an exercise of love
that does not bring much joy to the Kingdom of God is false. Any
time you refuse to receive God’s love into your life or allow it to
be passed to others you have disallowed Christmas technically in
heaven. A denial of Christmas in heaven means allowing more
corruption and evil to prevail on earth, in your community,
environment, place of work, family, local Church and the world at
large.

The Samaritan Love

1John 4:7-12, is a revelation of the immensity of God’s love for

man and what his response is to this love. The theme of this part
of our study ‘Everyday is not Christmas’, contrary to what
Christmas ought to be ‘an everyday experience,’ has made us to
see how we have lost the true essence and beauty of Christmas.
We have seen that Christmas was the time God revealed His love
to man, the world at large at ones. Individual Christmas comes as
we receive this love into our lives and the time we extend it to
others. Thus, why we cannot love others the way God loves us is
because we do not have God’s love resident in us. Only those who
have God’s love (Jesus Christ) living in them can give out the
same to others. Christmas is all about giving this love. No matter
how big the worth of goodness you show to others during
Christmas, and on every other days, it is nothing in the sight of
God if it not driven by the need to pass unto others the love you
already possess. Christmas can never be a true and an everyday
experience for you if you have not experienced it personally. You
can love the whole world, however, if the love you give is not as a
result of the love of God has blessed your soul and spirit, you love
is in vain. Even if you are known as the best Christian on earth,
you are not in any way different from pagans.

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your

neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you:
Love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you, that you may be sons of your
Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the
evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous
and the unrighteous. If you love those who love
you, what reward will you get? Are not even the
tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only
your brothers, what are you doing more than
others? Do not even pagans do that?

Matthew 5:43-47

It is only the love of God, the love that Christmas gives that can
make you love and live as God on earth. No love in and of this
world is entirely selfless and sacrificial. The love of this world
considers the object to love and chooses the direction it must go
as well as it extent. This is not God’s love, not the love of
Christmas. The love of this world changes with time, it varies and
it is temporal. He who receives from the world pays back with his
live. Nevertheless, those who get God’s love get His live. The
present world is a dead system it has no life to give; instead, it is
ready to make dead all that lives in it.

In the story of the Samaritan man we learn that Christmas can

become a daily experience in our lives if we deliberately learn
how to be at the giving end of love without any restriction.

…But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where

the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity
on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds,
pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on
his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care
of him. The next day he took out two silver coins
and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,'
he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for
any extra expense you may have.'

Luke 10:25-35

A Samaritan Man

There were four characters in this story; the man who was
attacked by robbers and three passerby. Our main character is a
Samaritan. That he is a Samaritan (a man from Samaria) means a
lot to this story. To understand what this Samaritan did you need
to see who the other two characters were and what they did.

A priest happened to be going down the same

road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on
the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to
the place and saw him, passed by on the other
side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where
the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity
on him.

Luke 10:31-33
The first two were Jews just like the man who was robbed still they
passed by living him to suffer. The third man was a Samarian; he
belongs to the set of people the Jews do not want to have
anything to do with. Remember the incident between Jesus and
the Samaritan woman by the well (John 4:1-26). Samaritans were
those who came out of the Assyrian exile. Though they have a
blood connection with the ten tribe of Israel but this set have
become mixed blood, thus, other Israelites, especially the Jews in
Jerusalem as commanded by God refused any form of fellowship
with them, they even denied them all forms of religious
participation in the Temple in Jerusalem. Thus, they became
separated from their own brothers. Though related by blood, the
Jews in Jerusalem particularly and those in Samaria do nothing
together, the Samarians to the Jews were more like rejects and
pagans.

During His ministry on earth, Jesus went through Samaria and

ministered to many of them in an unusual way. Though of the
Jewish line, Jesus did not see them as rejects. Samaria as a city
constitutes a region that the Jews avoided by crossing the Jordan
while travelling on towards the east. They go through such a
stress just to make sure they have nothing to do with them. Yes,
God told them they should not allow them the privileged of
worship in the temple because of their blood relationship with the
Cushites, a pagan nation, but He did not tell them to avoid them
completely the way they did. Their extremist form of relationship
with the Samaritans was a tradition designed by their elders, not
God.

That Jesus did not separate Himself from this people is so evident
in the Scriptures. He was a blessing to them as much as He was
to His people. Though Jesus gave great priority to minister to the
Jews with all their persecutions, He did not avoid the Samaritans
completely; they were the ones who rejected Him (Luke 9:51-56).
He ministered to the Samaritans the same Gospel He brought to
the Jews. This is evident in the result of His conversation with the
Woman by the well (John 4:27-30, 39-42). Once, Jesus told His
disciples not to go among the Gentiles or any town of the
Samaritans (Matthew 10:5), but later as He send them out with
the Great commission, He mentioned that they should go to
Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and other parts of the earth (Acts 1:8)
to show that these people were all inclusive in the big picture of
the Kingdom of God.

Jesus showed God’s love to this people both at the individual level
and as an entity. The woman by the well refused to give Him a
drink, but He did not refuse to offer her the Water of life. She
detested Jesus but Jesus loved her. How far are you ready to go
with your giving? Are you ready to give even if you are not given?
Would you go beyond all racial prejudice, creed, religiosity,
tradition, nationality and such bridges to reach others no matter
what? Would you choose to give no matter what is done against
you? Would you choose to love the Samaritans even if you are a
Jew? Will you love a Muslim, a Buddhist, Hindus, and others as
you love your Christian brethren?

Note that our story was used by the greatest storyteller who ever
lived. Though, it was not reported that the event actually
happened but Jesus’ parable nevertheless are events that has
eternal relevance. Jesus simplifies what happens in the everyday
life of the Jews in His parables to open them up to the eternal
truth.

The first character in our story, the Priest, was a typical Jew
during Jesus’ days on earth. He was a close relative of the man
who had been robed. Even if they were not that close as relative
that our man is a Priest meant he has been licensed by God to
help people and bring them out of their bondages. However, when
he saw this man in his dying state the Bible says, ‘He passed on
the other side.’ He turned away from him, acted as if he did not
see him. Helping a Jew in such a critical state was of no or
relevance to him. May be he said, “I have my own problems, my
own issues to attend to and mind you the world is dangerous
nowadays, you do not know who is who? I do not want to
implicate my life with this man issues.” May be he said, “that
serves him right. He must have done something wrong and he is
receiving is due punishment. This is an act of retribution from God
according to His law and I must not interfere.” This is a good
judgment at least one that is coming from a Priest who
understands the Law of God. I am a Priest and I have temple
works to attend to, that is my primary assignment, so I cannot
stop on the way to help this man while I am needed in the Temple.
The truth is that whatsoever made this Priest to turn away from
this individual is a religious sentiment and has nothing to do with
the ways of God.

The second person, a Levite, sold out to God; God is his

inheritance. He also acted like his brother the Priest. In his own
case, it might be because he felt that he is a poor Levite, “since
God is my inheritance, I have nothing to help this man
with.”Although, this man has the blessing of God at his disposal
he refused to bless the poor man. He was a steward of God’s
resources still he chose to turn away from the poor man.

Lessons Derived

1. We often pass by many people whom we can be of help to

on daily basis. We run in haste, pass them by and live them
to themselves. If we had just taken time to wait we would
have saved them from their crisis. Each time we do this we
deny people of their timely Christmas and we make the
whole essence of this part of the Christian life, meaningless.
What if the table is turned around and we are the ones at the
needy end? Let us do today what we expect others to do for
us at any given point in time. That is the Spirit of Christmas.
2. The love shared in Christmas is not a religious adventure like
many take it as. It is spiritual, soul-driven and wholesome. It
 is a love to be given to and shared by all. It is love given to
affect the whole man not just a part. It affects the soul, spirit
and body of man. We miss a lot when all we want to give as
love to people is what affects a part of their lives alone and
not the whole essence of their living. If you give to bless the
flesh of a man with no consideration of his soul and spirit,
you have only given a grief not a gift. Why men find it hard
to give is because they only consider giving as limited to a
part, just material things and nothing else.

The two people who passed the man by did not help him because
they were only considering a single part in the help they could
offer him. They passed him by because they were only
considering his physical state and how this conflicts with their
spiritual state. The one who later helped him did considered his
physical state but he saw beyond his color and present state. This
man was only concerned about bringing comfort the soul and
spirit of the distressed man. When you consider your neighbors
from a holistic point of view, you cannot find giving to them so
hard a thing to do; you will always have something to give.

3. That you are holding one religious office does not mean you
have the best of love to give. Only Christian can give love;
only those who have received the love of Christ can give the
same to their neighbors. Christians no matter the office they
hold in a local assembly, priestly or not, clergy or not, laity or
whatsoever, church workers or a common member cannot
give love to others; only Christian can give love. You cannot
pass away or turn aside from someone who needs love if you
are Christian; Christ never did during His days on earth.
4. At times, if not all the times, a missed opportunity cannot be
repeated. Although. You might have to go through that way
again, the object that needed help or the gift of love might
have received it from another. The Priest and Levites as they
returned from their places of their assignments would find
 out that the one they neglected is no longer there again.
They might not gain the consciousness that they have
missed a great opening for showing love to others and
opportunity for ministry, but it would have been written in
their account in God’s Kingdom that they failed to give love.

A friend once narrated the story of such a lost opportunity. On a

Sunday morning as he prepared for the Sunday school being a
teacher, he felt he was already late. While he was at the door, he
felt a nudging to knock at his neighbor’s door to say a word of
prayer with him but because he was getting late for the service
he abated the impulse saying he will attend to the matter when
he returns from the Church service. He did return and the first
thing he wanted to do was to take the grace of God that he was
coming with from the Church to him. Alas, as he knocked at the
door of this neighbor he met other neighbor mourning. It did not
take too long before he realized that the person he came with
such a great zeal to pray with has passed on. He did not
understand what has happened right there and then but latter he
did. Knowing that he has lost a great opportunity of being a part
of the close to death scene or by God’s grace give that person a
chance for live again or an opportunity to experience the love of
God through salvation, he felt so bad. He lived many days after as
if the burden of the whole world was on him. Though, he has
become a great missionary and church planter today, this lost
opportunity still stares him at the face.

5. If you cannot take the place of the person you want to help
(empathy not sympathy), you cannot give true love. The two
men who turned aside from the man in pain acted this way
because they did not put themselves into his shoe. Perhaps,
they did not even see themselves being in that position ever.
They felt higher than him and going to help him will bring
them down to his state and position. Jesus who taught us
how to love came down to us, into our state, entered into our
 shoes before He could help us totally. No one who would give
love like Jesus can think of anything less or higher than this.

He Travelled

‘He travelled.’ This was how the movement of the Samaritan man
towards the man in pain was described. Compare it with those
used in describing those of the Priest and the Levites, ‘A priest
happened to be going the down the same road’. The Priest was
going in the same direction as the man attacked by the robbers.
He could have been the victim but he was not. If he were truly
grateful to God that he was saved, he would have helped the
man. It was as if the man faced the ordeal instead of him; the
man was there before he got to that spot and bore the pain on his
behalf.

When you see someone in pain of whatever kind, ask yourself,

“why not me, why was I not the victim?” if you truly consider this
and meditate on it properly, you will not find it too hard to give a
hand of help anytime and anywhere.

‘He was going down the same road,’ more like a usual or daily
thing. He was familiar with all that happens daily on that road so
he takes less or no cognizance of all that was happening around
him. Do not be too familiar with your environment that your eyes
become blind to notice any changes in it. This is a negative
familiarity. Do not be too used with your friends and families as
well as other neighbors to the extent you will become blind to the
changes around them and notice their silent cries for help.
Familiarity that is not love driven will be blind to the slightest of
pain that people have around us.

The Samaritan was travelling, he was going up not down. He was

not in the same direction as the victim still he took time to meet
his need. He was a man on a purposeful journey, possibly a
business trip, yet he stopped by to help the victim. He gave his
time, himself and his heart. Everything else can wait because
there is a life to save. He was selfless in his show of love.

He Took Pity on Him…

The Levite came to the scene, saw the man and went his way, but
the Samaritan did not only see him, he took pity on him. It takes a
longer seeing, a purpose seeing, not just a gazing at for one to
take pity on what is seen. If you hear the account of an accident
related to you by a witness you might not be moved, if you just
pass-by the scene you might not be moved as well, but you
cannot stay at the scene of the incident for a while watching
closely to see how devastating the incident is without being
moved. You will only pass by and do nothing if you have a callous
heart. It takes a staying with, taking a closer look at to show love.
If you just see you will easily leave, but you cannot come closer
and live in haste. You might try living the scene without doing
anything, but it will take a long while before the scene leaves you.

Often time when we listen to people sharing their plights with us,
why we don’t do a thing is because we did not truly listen to
them, if we truly do, we might not be able to solve their problems
outrightly, but just paying attention to them goes a long way to
knowing that someone cares for them. Since we always have a
ready-made response for all cases shared with us, we do less in
the matter of listening. ‘Sorry, God bless you, it is well, O! What a
pity. ’ Whenever our response to a situation is this, we have
shown we care less. We cannot offer any good to people if we
make it so clear to them that we are not interested in their case.

Beyond Words of Pity

‘He went to him,’ meaning that he did not just see him, took pity
on him and closed the case there, instead, he moved closer, drew
nearer to the man. Identifying ourselves with the state of others,
takes more than just seeing what or hearing about what they are
going through, it involves coming closer as much as we can. Do
not pray at a distance for someone you can get closer to pray
with. Move from your comfort zone into the person’s discomfort
zone. If you cannot travel, you cannot truly help others. To really
identify with the needs of others you have to travel a distance.

If you are rich and another is poor, you cannot really be a blessing
to the person if you do not know what it is to be poor. Helping the
poor is more of moving from your comfort zone into the
discomfort zone of the poor and bringing the person into your
zone as possible as you can. You have to see what the situation
really is before you can truly be of help. You cannot assume that
you know what it is like to poor because you were told or taught.

The Samaritan as he drew closer to the man saw what the

situation was like before moving into action. He did not act until
he drew closer. He went to him and bandaged his wounds,
pouring on oil and wine. He could have chosen to carry the man
immediately to the inn; instead, he chose to administer the
needed at that moment. He tried securing his life; stopped the
flow of blood so that the man will become unconscious before
getting to the inn. He gave him the available, he did not wait for
them to get to the inn; instead, he began with the man’s healing
process immediately. If this was all he could do, he has done so
much, because no good would be of help if the man died on the
way. He would have decided to leave the man because he did not
have much on him but he did not. He gave little but this little has
the strength of much because it was the most needed at that
time.

Instead of promising people big things in the future, give them

what you have now. You do not love when you fail to give what
you can now. Love is mostly in now. Love is real at present. The
best love comes in simple packs and not giant parcels. If you can
give little now you will give more later.

Becoming the Link

The Samaritan man did not stop at restoring the man back to life
through the First Aid he applied; he also made plans to secure this
man back to his feet.

1. He placed him on his donkey, not the Carmel of someone

else
2. He took him to an Inn
3. He paid his bills

What if this man gave up on the way? What if he died in the Inn?
What if he could not afford the bill that he would be charged in
the Inn? There were many factors to consider as he progressed in
his show of love to this man, but the love he was ready to give
clouded his thought that nothing could stop him from what his
mind has chosen to do. Is love was beyond all the ‘What if(s)’.
There was no fear in his love. His was a perfect love because
perfect love cast all fears away (1John 4:18).

Most times especially in this part of the world where suspicion and
fear thrive, we tend to love with caution. Many now see wisdom in
considering all factors involved before giving love. There is the
fear of betrayal, accusation, disappointments, ingratitude, loss,
regrets, and more. Only those who get their minds off these
things find it easy to give and receive love.

Remember that this Samaritan was a traveler. He must have

budgeted all he needed for his journey. However, without formally
including this present earlier, he made way for the need to fit into
his budget. He was ready to sacrifice his time, his ride, his
supplies, his money and his life. He offered all of this for the use
of this man who was in need. What do you have to offer to others,
what are you ready to give, are you ready to surrender these
things completely so that they can serve their purpose?

The Next Day

His love lasted beyond a day. It was not just love for a time; it was
love for all times, love for all the times it will be needed. ‘For God
so loved the World…’ God’s love for the world covers all human
time line, yesterday (past), today (present) and tomorrow (future).
His love is not just for times we think we need it most it is for all
times and can be accessed at all times. It is always there even
when it seems we are not feeling it.

He loved us while we were yet sinners and loves us still when we

become saints. He does not say we do not need to be loved or we
need to be loved less when we become saved, it is even at this
stage that we feel His love more. It is at the point of salvation that
we start knowing and understanding His love. We are His children
and He treats us as one. He loves us when we are sick as much as
He does when we are healthy and strong. The sick who sees the
healthy might say God loves him less but he does so because he
does not truly know God’s love. God’s love satisfies the soul of His
Children all the times in all condition and circumstance. He loves
all the way.

His love is not just on time (at the exact time) and at the time
(when all hope is lost), it is also at all times. As humans, we think
love can only be shown in bad times, when people are in sorrows,
pains, facing all kinds of odds and others. However, the truth is
that love is not just for bad times, it is not just meant to change
bad situation to good, it is also meant to make what is already
good, better and all that has been made better, best. Love stays
through even when the bad has been turned to good, it stays to
sustain the good and bring perfection out of it. When you just love
during the bad days and leave afterwards, your love is not made
perfect.
This Samaritan helped the needy man with his first and
immediate need. He also became the link for him to get the
proper treatment he needed. He could not give him the needed
care for perfect recovery but he helped him get to the place he
could get it. This man gave is best to the innkeeper, he made sure
the process of his recovery started before he left. He did not just
take the man there to dump him so that he could continue with
his personal task. He was completely given to finishing the task
he started. This man treated the victim as one of his kind, his
family member. He took all the responsibilities of his needs on
himself.

Again, I ask, ‘Was he prepared for all this?’ I guess, No. He had
other plans but because of his love, anyone could also fit into his
plans at any given point in time. When all you do is to give at
Christmas, the ay, other avenues where you ought to give love
will pass you by. If you fix your gaze on Christmas, the day alone,
you cannot give love like Christ. Christmas is now, anytime and
every time not then not tomorrow. Loving others is in giving a cup
of water now if that is all you have and following the person of the
receiver up with your heart.

When I Return

Love prepares to return and it does promptly as much as it can.

Love makes promises that can be fulfilled not vague ones. Love
say and do what it has said. Love can be trusted no matter what.
Love returns to continue what it has started. Love does not hold
people into ransom with a promissory note. Love completes what
it has commenced and it prospers what seems to have been
completed (Philippians 1:6). Love always returns.

After keeping the injured man into the safe hands of the
Innkeeper, the Samaritan made sure he returned both to check on
the injured man as well as to settle his bill. He did not keep him
there to run away but to returned to him. He was not the type
who will burden the man with the pains of how he will settle his
bill knowing that the robbers who attacked him must have taken
everything he had on him. As he was seeing to physical recovery
he was also attending to his emotional state, making sure his
mental state will not hinder his speedy recovery. How can a man
who is left with the burden of getting the means to settle his bill in
the hospital gain quickly recover? The love of the Samaritan for
his friend was holistic.

‘I will come back to remit all the expenses you must have
incurred,’ so this loving man said. Give him the best of
treatments, use all you need to get him back on his feet quickly;
do not delay his treatment. I will return to remit all debt. I have
given before and I am ready to give even more. There is great joy
when a man knows there is someone who will always return to
him and someone he can always turn to when he needs to be
loved. The heart is crushed when there is no one to receive love
from at the needed time.

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God;

trust also in me. In my Father's house are many
rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I
am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I
go and prepare a place for you, I will come back
and take you to be with me that you also may be
where I am.

John 14:1-3

Jesus has not yet returned has he has said, but in several ways He
showed His disciples and He still shows those who trust Him today
that He always returns. Jesus does not forget. He left them, but
not as orphan. He left them with is His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit
makes Jesus ever and always present. The truth is that He did not
leave actually. He said He is with us forever (Matthew 28:29, cf.
John 14:16-17). Whenever they need Him, He always comes
around as He is always around through the Holy Spirit. He was
there with Peter in the dungeon and with Paul and Silas in the
Prison. He is always around, even if it seems we are not seeing
Him.

Most assuredly, Jesus will one day return as He is to deliver

completely the living Souls of all those who followed Him. Those
in the grave, He will call forth unto Himself for He can never
forget them there. Those on the earth, in this world, He will call
out and they will be gathered all around Him. He will never forget
them.

"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and

have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See,
I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are ever before me.

Isaiah 49:15-16

The assurance of the return of God is evident in the Scriptures.

The Scripture was inspired and written to show God remembers
His own because He never forgets (Genesis 8:1, Deuteronomy
31:6, Joshua 1:5, Psalm 27:10; 94:14, Hebrew 13:5). God will
surely return to you just as He said in His words no matter the
state you are presently. All you need to do is to wait, wait for Him
and wait on Him. Wait in the exact place He left you; when He
returns He would meet you there still waiting for Him.

Then the LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this
time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Now
Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was
behind him.

Genesis 18:10

When He returns, He comes to fulfill what He has said. He will not

come empty. He is coming with gifts, great blessings to satisfy the
soul and spirit of those who have waited for Him. He is love, when
He returns he will come with abundant love more than the one
received in His first coming. He will come to satisfy all needs and
fulfill the desires of His own. Bear this in mind He is always around
even if you do not see Him for he can never leave you; you are
the one who should do the living. If you are right where he kept
you, you will always find Him when you seek Him, anytime and
any day. You do not need to wait untill another Christmas day,
before you see or feel Him around. Do not take His returning as
just something stuck to a particular time; do not do religion with
God. God is always near you when you turn to Him, He returns to
you.

Can I at this point ask you to look into yourself and do a thorough
search concerning this matter? Have you made a promise of love
yesterday and you have not return to fulfill it? You are a debtor if
you are in this condition you need to do something about it. Do
not expect God to do for you what you are not good at doing. If
you really desire that He returns to you as He said, return to do
for others what you have said.

Extra Expenses

Love always goes the extra mile and always gives the extra.
There is no limit in and to true love. There is always something
extra that love can and wants to give. True love does and gives
the extra not just the ordinary. True love when given might look so
small to a witness who sees the giving but in the hands of the
receiver, it is an extraordinary thing. Love though gives the
common but in giving it does it in an uncommon way.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid

down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our
lives for our brothers.

1John 3:16
In His own words Jesus said,

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays

down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not
the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he
sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and
runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and
scatters it.

John 10:11-12

Love is not just an act of giving; it is giving the extra and going
the extra mile to do a thing, a sacrificial giving. You do not have to
do the extraordinary before you give love, you only need to give
the extra. When you do the unexpected and unsuspected you are
giving the extra, giving what others have refused to give, doing
what others would not want to do or have left undone. It is in
paying the price that others would not, doing what many have by-
passed and swept aside or overlooked.

The love of God is love not just revealed in the conception of Mary
the Virgin, in the delivery of the baby amidst all odd
circumstances. It was not just in the good deeds that Jesus offered
to humankind, because His miracles did not touch everyone on
earth then directly. The love of God love is in the eventual giving
of Jesus as a ransom on the Cross for the sin of the world. Jesus
gave Himself as the real thing and the extra that is missing in
human life. His love extends further to calling everyone on earth
then and now to embrace the works of the Cross. He did not just
die for them, he brought then into the essence and works of this
death. His love was absolute and in each step that He took to
show us this love, He goes the extra mile.

"If you love those who love you, what credit is that
to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them.
And if you do good to those who are good to you,
what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that.
 And if you lend to those from whom you expect
repayment, what credit is that to you? Even
'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid
in full. But love your enemies, do good to them,
and lend to them without expecting to get
anything back. Then your reward will be great,
and you will be sons of the Most High, because he
is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful,
just as your Father is merciful.

Luke 6:32-36

He gave His life so that we can get His life in our lives. When you
are told to give your life to Him, it is not because He needs it but
because you need what He is ready to give you in return. What
can the human sinful life offer to Him? Nothing! He asks for your
life because you do not need it. He can give you what you need.
You cannot get His life into your life of sin. You must give that
away first, before you can get the new and real life.

He gives you what you cannot give Him back. He is not giving
because He wants something back from you. Whatever He gives
you is for your benefit and whatever you give Him is for your
benefit as well. In both directions, you are the one who has
something to gain, not God.

Look up at the heavens and see; gaze at the

clouds so high above you. If you sin, how does
that affect him? If your sins are many, what does
that do to him? If you are righteous, what do you
give to him, or what does he receive from your
hand? Your wickedness affects only a man like
yourself, and your righteousness only the sons of
men.

Job 35:5-8
The Samaritan man was ready to return to give the Extra, time
after time. He always has extra love to give, his love like the lamp
of the Five wise virgin (Matthew 25:1-4) never goes out. He still
has something extra to give to keep the light of his love ever
shining.

It is this extra that is often missing in our relationship today and in

the world generally. When all that we have to give as love has
been used off, we become dry with nothing to give again. Many
marriages and families are in great ordeal today because there is
no extra love to give; the oil of the burning fire of love that they
started with has gone down. Nobody is ready to give the extra
since no one took the extra along in the beginning of the journey.
When challenges, the unexpected, came, there was nothing to
combat it with, so separation begins. Those who ride on through
all challenges are those who have taken the extra along with
them. It does not necessarily have to be all the parties involved,
though it helps a lot when all can do this Just a single individual
with the extra brings light into the dark situation and the
relationship will be back on track again.

Where do we get the extra from? You do not need to go the extra
mile like those five unwise virgin did (Matthew 25:5-10), go to
Jesus. In Jesus lays the extra and the whole. He is the solution to
all crisis, light to all darkness, life to all dead cases (John 10:10).
Do not go to men first; go to Jesus. Do not go into the city, you
will only find confusion there. Go to Jesus!

Our lives and relationships will be secured if there is always

someone who is ready to give the extra, give more when others
give less, big when they give small, tangible for the intangible. If
there are people who will do what others have failed to do, give
what others find hard to give, we will have less crisis crippling into
our home, marriages, families, church, society, states, nation and
the world at large. The problem we have is that all of us want to
do what we all are doing at the same range and those who are
trying to be different are doing it mostly for selfish interest, to
show others that they are better. This is not true love; it is more
dangerous than hatred itself.

Jesus can help us to become better giver of love if we seek Him.

He can help us give the needed extra all the time. When we try to
give love by our human strength, our love fails easily. Love given
through the strength of man, human logic and emotion is false,
and it is not borne out of truth. True love is only in Jesus, until you
do love through Jesus you cannot love like Jesus. You need the
help of His Spirit to love all the time and all the way and to have
love, to give to others, all the time. Only the love that comes from
Jesus can be of blessing to others. Only he who gives the love that
comes from Jesus is the neighbor of the other.

Go and Do Likewise

"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor

to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
The expert in the law replied, "The one who had
mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do
likewise."

Luke 10:36-37

Love is in showing mercy to another person. Mercy means,

benevolence, mildness or tenderness of heart, which disposes a
person to overlook injuries, or to treat an offender better than he
deserves; the disposition that tempers justice, and induces an
injured person to forgive trespasses and injuries, and to forbear
punishment, or inflict less than law or justice will warrant
(Webster Dictionary, Esword). The Samaritan fulfilled the terms of
love to the extent that his action was referred to as Mercy. He
showed love to someone who did not deserve it, a Jew. His love
was not just true it was merciful. Jesus did much more.
Christmas is an act of benevolence, mildness and tenderness of
heart. It came from God who chose to overlook all the injuries
men caused to His work and more to themselves. Christmas
reveals how God chose to treat man better than he deserved.
Because of the Cross of Jesus Christ, he chose to temper justice
with mercy and forgive all we have done wrong. Until you
embrace this Cross, you cannot understand the worth of His
works of love.

‘Go and do likewise‘, the crown of the Jesus’ message concerning

the Samaritan. It is not just about hearing and knowing; until you
do love, you do not know love. You may know so much about the
history and doctrine of Christmas; it is only how you act it out that
will tell if you truly understand what you know. Christmas is to be
lived not just a thing to believe. You must live love not just believe
in love.

PART TWO Chapter

ONE

BEFORE CHRISTMAS
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and
the government will be on his shoulders. And he
 will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6

The gift of Jesus Christ to this world by God the Father of all is
truly the greatest act of love and loving. This love came out of
one of the strongest and uncommon acts of love ever exercised
and displayed by two mortals. Their love as they related with one
another was one without prejudice and pretence, without earthly-
based conditions and control.

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about:

His mother Mary was pledged to be married to
Joseph, but before they came together, she was
found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man
and did not want to expose her to public disgrace,
he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

Matthew 1:18-19

The love of Joseph and Mary is only echoed at the

background when the story of their seed (legal), Jesus, is being
told. This is not so because narrators of this glorious account
decide to do so of their free will, it is mostly because they are
always overwhelmed by the magnitude and worth of God’s love
expressed to mankind in the birth of Jesus Christ. Another reason
for this is because for an average Christian the different texts of
the Bible that reveal the birth of Jesus are always kept aside and
read, possibly meditated upon during Christmas seasons.

If you are reading this book presently, may I ask you when last did
you read the accounts of the birth of Jesus purposefully and not
by coincidence? Last Christmas, I guess, because you were in a
carol service or in the Church on a Christmas Eve or the day itself.
Perhaps, you only had the opportunity of listening to the account
as someone read it in family reunion or in the church service held
on Christmas morning.

The same goes for the teachers and preachers of the word of God.
Is it not only on the last Christmas service you placed deliberate
emphasis on this account. You have left it for another service at
the end of this year. You also do the same for accounts related to
the subject of His death and resurrection. These ones only apply
to Good Friday and Easter Sunday respectively. Have you not
become a preacher who has so much to tell the people of God
that you find it easy to forget this grand story and put it aside
deliberately for the time and season it will become sensible to
look at them again? Most times, when the accounts are read, the
illustrations and applications given to them are so far away from
the interest and intention of the Prophets and Gospellers who
were inspired to write them.

The story of the life of Jesus especially the beginning and the end
of it as it was lived here on earth ought to be a consistent and
continuous meditation for every Christian. Those who minister to
them should also see to it that those who they lead are
encouraged to consider the accounts often. The story of Jesus is
not there in the Bible for us to read when we feel like. How we
relate with this part of the Scripture determines a lot on how
much we are going to get out of the Bible as a whole. The Bible as
a Historical masterpiece; it is His Story, the Story of Jesus Christ.
His story in particular as it is revealed by the Old Testament
Prophets and in the Gospel writings is the basis of all the
revelations the Bible has to offer us. When we miss t this point we
miss it all.

The story of His birth is the fulfillment of Prophet Isaiah’s

prophecy (Isaiah 9:6). It mentions the revelation of God’s love for
the whole of humanity as He, God, prepares to save us. We
cannot truly and fully understand the essence of the salvation
that Jesus wroth for man if we do not start by looking at the
matters that surrounds His birth, not just looking at this matters
but sitting meditatively at them. This story is something that
should catch our attention with no end in sight. It is one story that
should drive our core purpose on earth as well as all christian
mission. This is because the whole Gospel as presented in the
Scriptures can best be summarized in this statement, ‘God loved
mankind that He gave His only begotten Son.’ This truth is
enough to calm all storm and whatsoever troubles our hearts. God
has given His Son as a ransom for our sins.

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him
up for us all-- how will he not also, along with him,
graciously give us all things?

Romans 8:32

We cannot overemphasize this truth. He who gave us His Son

gave us His All. He gave us all, all we will need for life and
godliness. When we need anything that pertains to this life
especially the life He gave, all we need do is go back to such
scriptures that describe how the life came to us. God gave us His
Son; His All for all that has happened to us and will or might
happen to us while we are still in this world. Why we do not get
the best of what should be ours in God is because we reject the
All of God. We want Jesus and other things. We do not want Jesus
alone. We always want to have Jesus because of what we really
want to get in and from God not because He is all we need to get
in God and all God has to offer us.

I say it boldly, all God has to offer you is His Son and He has
already given Him. All you need is in Him. What you need to do is,
‘accept Jesus as God’s All, All He intends to and wants to give you.
No other thing comes from God except through Him.

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell

in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all
things, whether things on earth or things in
 heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed
on the cross.

Colossians 1:19-20

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in

bodily form, and you have been given fullness in
Christ, who is the head over every power and
authority.

Colossians 2:9-10

And God placed all things under his feet and

appointed him to be head over everything for the
church, which is his body, the fullness of him who
fills everything in every way.

Ephesians 1:22-23

One fact that is stressed in the texts above is that everything is in

Jesus Christ and these things belong to the Church, His body. If
anyone becomes part of Jesus by joining the Church, he is given
access into all things. Becoming part of His Church is not just by
joining a local assembly or being effective in it, but in coming
through the Cross. You have to believe in Jesus and accept Him
into your life. Afterwards, you must choose to follow Him all the
way; if Jesus is not your Lord you are not part of His Church. He
must have become both Savior and Lord to you before you can
become admitted as one of His.

We need to see another important side of the Christmas story. A

story precedes the story of the Birth of Jesus and it is very
important in the birth narrative. The story of Joseph and Mary was
not just a mere prelude to or sequel of the story of Jesus’ birth it
was its foundation. It was on the devotion of these two towards
God, others and one another that Jesus was born. We miss a lot
when we do not give time to look deliberately into the love of
these people through which God’s love was born and given to
man.

Chapter TWO

BIBLICAL JOSEPH(S)

There are several references to the name Joseph in the Bible.

Most of these references were just mere mentioning with a story
attached to the name. While those who had their story told had
one thing in common, Love. Their stories tell of the love they
showed to God and man. Although, this work is mainly about
Joseph the husband of Mary, the father of Jesus, but since we are
sharing the love of Christmas from the divine point of view, their
stories also need to be told. From them we can learn more about
God’s love.

Joseph the son of Jacob

The first Joseph ever mentioned in the Bible is the Joseph the
eleventh son of Jacob. He was the one who came out of the love
of Jacob and Rachel, the first lovebirds the Scriptures ever
mentioned.

The man Jacob had several crisis times with Rachel as it pertains
to the matters of love. In the beginning of their love life, Jacob
was deceived by Laban, Rachel’s father. In the place of Rachel,
Leah was given for his first seven years of labors. To get Rachel as
his legal wife he had to give an extra, more than the expected; he
had to wait technically doubled the expected time. Jacob also had
to wait for a seed to come out of their relationship. Leah his first
wife continued to give birth to children, but his beloved was
unable to. Even with this, his love for her never wane.. God
eventually blessed Rachel with a boy and not too long, she
became pregnant again with another boy. It was at this time that
Jacob as prompted of God decided to leave for his father’s land.
Another test for this love relationship came when Rachel died
during Childbirth; she died after delivering Jacob’s last son,
Benjamin. Although, Rachel died, Jacob’s love for her never died.
Jacob poured his love on Joseph, Rachel’s first son.

Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other

sons, because he had been born to him in his old
age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for
him (Genesis 37:3).

Joseph came out of a love bond that nothing on earth could break,
love that exceeded the terrain of human logic. What he became,
that is the savior of many nations, is a proof of the love that gave
birth to him. As a type of Jesus Christ, he lived to save many souls
alive (Genesis 50:20). The test of the love he also became came
when he had to deal with the matters of forgiving his brothers for
their wrong doings against him. He was sold to death out of shred
hatred. They hated him because of his dream and because he was
the begotten son of their father. He was assumed dead but it was
this same death plan that became the pathway to the deliverance
of the Hebrews.

From a theological point of view the evil that Joseph’s brother did
to him was done by the whole Israel just as they rose up against
Jesus to crucify Him and the salvation he bought for then was for
both the Hebrews as a whole only that the salvation given
through his life lasted only for a season. He showed the Hebrews
love and mercy they never deserved. When they came to him
pleading for their lives and those of their children Joseph freely
forgave them.

When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was

dead, they said, "What if Joseph holds a grudge
against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we
did to him?" So they sent word to Joseph, saying,
"Your father left these instructions before he died:
'This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to
forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they
committed in treating you so badly.' Now please
forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your
father." When their message came to him, Joseph
wept. His brothers then came and threw
themselves down before him. "We are your
slaves," they said. But Joseph said to them, "Don't
be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended
to harm me, but God intended it for good to
accomplish what is now being done, the saving of
many lives.

Genesis 50:15-20

He loved them even when the one whom he loved most, his
father, died. He loved them unconditionally. He loved them more
than they hated him. His love brought the Israelites their rest in
the beginning of their stay in Egypt. The works of his love for
them exceeded the time of his death. Joseph truly lived the love
of Christmas

No one can love this way and this much if he is not a product of
much love. You need to be given birth to anew (Born Again)
through the love of Christ before you can give the love of Christ.

Joseph the Arimathea

 As evening approached, there came a rich man
from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself
become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he
asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be
given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a
clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new
tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a
big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and
went away.

Matthew 27:57-60

The first act of love he showed was to come out. Coming out that
time meant, identifying with Jesus. He was a rich man from the
wealthy class but he still chose to identify himself publicly as the
disciple of Jesus Christ. He was ready to abhor the resentment of
his rich fellows who would call him a fool. He was ready to bear
the shame and ridicule of being called the disciple of Jesus as at
that time. Before this event, he was a secret disciple, but now he
was ready to proclaim his discipleship relationship with Jesus
Christ. Peter ran away betraying Jesus, but this Joseph came out
publicly to announce his commitment to Jesus.

His other outstanding act of love was that of fulfilling a great

prophecy concerning the burial of Jesus;

He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and

with the rich in his death, though he had done no
violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Isaiah 53:9

The tone of the first part of this prophecy is not one that anyone
would want to align himself with. The choice of Jesus resting place
was not settled before his death because his death is what we can
refer to as untimely. Since he had to be buried quickly after his
death because it was close to the Sabbath day, if Arimathea did
not come to the scene, Jesus would have been buried in a
common place as against what the Prophecy foretold. In addition,
the Chief Priest and the Pharisees would not have seen the need
of inciting Pilate to command the sealing of the tomb (Matthew
27:62-66).

Joseph, he of Arimathea, noble and honorable in

rank and a respected member of the council
(Sanhedrin), who was himself waiting for the
kingdom of God, daring the consequences, took
courage and ventured to go to Pilate and asked for
the body of Jesus.

Mark 15:43 (Amplified)

Joseph of Arimathea, an honourable counsellor,

which also waited for the kingdom of God, came,
and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the
body of Jesus.

Mark 15:43 (KJV)

Joseph the Arimathea came to the scene to see these things done
with or without the knowledge of what would happen. For him it
must have been a matter of devotion borne out of love for his
Master. Perhaps he could give nothing during His life and He felt
indebted to do so this time. Joseph must have known that there is
no time too late to give love. In life or in death, love as a devotion
can still be shown to anyone by anyone who is wise. Love can be
given at anytime if it is coming out of a pure heart. If you cannot
do anything about the present situation someone is, prepare to do
it later.

As a well respect man among the Sanhedrin, Joseph had this to

his credibility; waiting for God’s Kingdom. He was not just a Jew
waiting for the Messiah to come; he believed Jesus is the Messiah
because only those who have come to this conclusion, truly waits
for the Kingdom of the King (Messiah) who had already come.
Joseph was a waiter and he came out boldly to the public, daring
all consequences to identify himself with this faith. The
consequences of this exercise are several, one of which is that he
would likely be removed from the club of the honorable
counselors of the Jews, the Sanhedrin. His status in the Jewish
community would be reduced and he would possibly called, an
outlaw.

Joseph the Arimathea did not just see to it that Jesus was buried;
he also took Him into his own prepared burial tomb. He craved for
the body of Jesus, more like wanting it has a personal property,
not for the sake of idolizing Him, but as a case for devotion. He
gave Jesus the place of his death for a life with Him. It was a new
tomb; no one has ever used it before, a tomb meant for the
wealthy.

Joseph brought Jesus into His rightful place of rest. He could have
chosen to get another burial place for Jesus instead, he chose his
own. He gave Jesus what was his. This is a true gift! It is not a gift
from you if it is not your own, it might be coming from you and it
might cost you, but it is not your gift and it cannot cost you much
if it is not coming directly from you. Joseph sold off his own rest
for Jesus’ rest. He unknowingly made a place available for the
body of Jesus as His Spirit goes into the grave to conquer death
and its powers. This is love divine. It was not just, because he was
rich or because he was a disciple but because he chose to show
his love as an undying and undenying devotion to his Master even
when His master was no longer alive to reward him. He was not
trying to give love to Jesus because of earthly rewards; he was
just devoted to love.

Joseph the son of Encouragement

Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the Apostles

called Barnabas (which means Son of
 Encouragement), sold a field he owned and
brought the money and put it at the Apostles' feet.

Acts 4:36-37

During the early days of the New Testament Church, the believers
were one in heart and mind, they had all in common. Amidst them
there were no outright rich or poor; they lived in a balance that is
not obvious in our world not even in the Church today. The rich
sold their properties at their own discretion to see to the needs of
the poor. They sold their properties and brought the money to the
feet of the Apostles to show their devotion. None of them agitated
to do the work of meeting the needs by themselves instead they
allowed the Apostles to do it (Acts 4:32-35).

One of those who followed this culture was Joseph called

Barnabas, his deeds was a true representation of his name. He
gave because he has been given so much. His love was given as
an Encouragement. Love as an Encouragement is a side of love
that we seldom see today. This form of love does not seek to do
and give all that is needed not because it does not want to but
because it is incapable of doing so. It gives to its best and gives
its best. The giving might be small or little in the eyes of others
but it is always special in the hands and heart of the receiver. It is
always timely, designed to raise the morals of the receiver and to
restore hope. Love as an encouragement is like giving a cup of
water to someone walking through the desert with several miles
ahead of him.

Immediately after the Barnabas’ love was referenced, the names

of two people were mentioned, Ananias and Sapphira. This couple
also sold their land but their actions did not present the love of
Christ at all. They only followed up Joseph’s action but they lacked
the Spirit that spurred him into this action. In their case, they
were not an encouragement to the Church and the Apostle. They
sold the land and brought part of the money to the Apostles’ feet
at their own discretion. They tied showing that they loved but
their love does not give all.

Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has

so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy
Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the
money you received for the land? Didn't it belong
to you before it was sold? And after it was sold,
wasn't the money at your disposal? What made
you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied
to men but to God."

Acts 5:3-4

What you have was given to you. While you had it, it is yours, to
give it out should not be forced on you; you have to do it freely.
Ananias and Sapphira thought it was by force to give so their
giving became false.

Love does not give forcibly it gives freely and fully. Any gift given
against ones will or taken by force is not a gift. God does not
expect you to give love or anything as an offering compulsorily.
God does not demand love from us He only expects us to give
freely. It is wrong when we place demand of anything on others.
When men do so they act contrary to God’s standard.

Men of God do so today; they force several offerings out of

people by using different gimmicks. They make people give
forcefully not freely. ‘You have to give to God with great force so
that He can pour His blessing on you with greater overwhelming
force.’ This type of statement is common in revival and crusades
meetings today. Since it is by force people can do as they like, sell
all and keep some of the proceeds to themselves. This is actually
contrary to what the Apostles encouraged the first churches to do
(2Corinthians 8:1-12). They commended them for their willingness
to give at all times and in all circumstances. Paul also
commended them for first giving their hearts to God before giving
their hands. They gave themselves to the Lord first before being
of help to meeting the needs of others. This is true and right
giving. It is only when a man gives his heart to God can he give
the best of his hands to Him.

For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable

according to what one has, not according to what
he does not have. (v. 12)

It is the willingness to give that makes a giving acceptable in the

sight of God. Willingness makes you give according to what you
have not what you do not have. Ananias and Sapphira lacked this
character that Barnabas exhibited. To be an encouragement there
is a level of willingness needed. Barnabas came to give like the
poor widow who gave all she had, while Ananias and his wife
came to show-off like the rich people who came to the temple
(Matthew 12:41-44). Love is not in showing-off it is in giving-off
and giving-all.

JOSEPH THE HUSBAND OF MARY

The account of the father of Jesus, Joseph, in the Bible is a brief

one. All that is know of him apart from his relationship with Mary
and how he became the father of Jesus legally is that his father’s
name is Jacob and he was from the Davidic lineage (Matthew
1:16, Luke 2:33, John 1:45). The latter that his being of the
Davidic lineage not just from the tribe of Judah meant a lot in
God’s choice of him for the task of being the father of Jesus on
earth.

Although he had no well-announced or pronounced background as

an individual but the role he played in the birth of Jesus was quite
an important one. That he is the father of the greatest man who
ever lived is a great honor. He might have lived his life just as a
local carpenter, but who he was and what he did as it regards the
birth of Jesus is a great deal. For me I see it a great privilege
writing about this man’s life especially, the worth of love he
showed to Mary and God and especially the product of this love,
Jesus Christ.

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about:

His mother Mary was pledged to be married to
Joseph, but before they came together, she was
found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man
and did not want to expose her to public disgrace,
he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

Matthew 1:18-19

Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph. This simple statement

in many ways show the type of man Joseph was. No one would
allow his daughter to be betrothed to a man of no proven integrity
in the land of Israel. Pledging ones daughter to someone then is
not just because of his wealth or riches or because of the
relationship between the parents involved, but because of the
worth of goodness the person has as a lifestyle. For Mary to have
been betrothed to the man Joseph, it meant that Joseph must
have lived a good and responsible life among his people. He must
have evidenced good virtues without fault. If Joseph had not
measured up to the total man as a Jew, he would not have had
Mary betrothed unto him.

Betrothing those days is not the different types of courtship we

have today. Then it was a time for both parties to prove their
worth beyond question; it is a time they are processed into the
marital world by their parents and family. Many tests are laid
down that must be passed; failure meant the annulment of the
marriage proposal. It is the time of their consecration for the
sacred institute they are about to enter into. This act is a sacred
promise that must be kept no matter what. It is simply the
engagement of marriage, a rite performed by the couple’s family
before the ceremony of marriage, which will involve the Priest. To
be betrothed to someone meant you have been married
traditionally to the person, only that you will stay apart for a while
before the religious consummation of the marriage. For Joseph to
be related to Mary this way, meant he is of high morale in his
community.

God is looking for young men and ladies, youth from every race in
this present generation and beyond, who will dignify themselves
like Mary and Joseph did. In our days, no penalty as such is
accorded to failed courtship since no one is the judge of the other,
so everyone has been given licensed to go into many
relationships has they can. No charge for fornication, so in
courtship we can be free with ourselves, do whatever we like
since we are going to end up getting married to each other.
Permit me to say this; when you fail this way in courtship, you
have prepared to make the home you intend to build fall.
Marriage is as sacred as its courtship. Until you take this for a
fact, you cannot get the best out of any relationship. You cannot
court someone you are not prepared to marry soon. Courtship is
not a time to examine your partner or test him or her, rather, it is
the time to form a betrothal, a consecration made through
promise that necessarily ends into marriage because it is the
marriage itself. You cannot court someone you have not agreed to
marry in the Jewish culture.

Joseph the first character in the account of the birth of Jesus

proved himself worthy of the honor of being ‘the father of God on
earth’ (literarily). First, he proved himself a man before becoming
a husband. The text we are considering identifies him as a
righteous man. In the Amplified version of this text, he is
identified as ‘a just and upright man’. He was not called this
because he became the father of Jesus instead, it was said of him,
that it was because this is his lifestyle. Joseph was a righteous,
just and upright man before he became the custodian of the Son
of God. His righteous disposition was so evident even before the
coming of Jesus Christ into this world.

His righteousness was put to test when he received the news of

Mary’s pregnancy. What would you do if you were in his condition
and you received such a report?

Not Willing to Expose

He made this worth of commitment even without having his

marriage formalized with Mary. He chose to keep the secret.
Secrecy, this is an important virtue every marriage and
relationship needs. It was his love for Mary that made him chose
to go this way not because he was afraid. His love was ready to
forgive Mary and forget what she has done. He could not continue
with Mary if she had gotten herself involved in immorality, it is an
abomination in the sight of Jehovah, punishable by death.
Nevertheless, he was ready to discontinue the marriage in such a
way that none will witness it hereby preventing the punishment
due to Mary. Even with the betrayal of trust, he was ready to save
Mary’s life.

Not willing to expose her also meant he would be covering Mary’s

sin, which is also a sin in the sight of God (Proverbs 28:13). He
was ready for the consequence of this just to have Mary and her
expected child saved. Joseph started showing his love for this
child by trying his best possible to have his mother preserved. He
was showing a great love to God without knowing. He should have
been the first person to make an attempt on the life of Jesus even
while he was still in the womb. If he had come out publicly to
disclaim Mary’s pregnancy, it would have meant death for the
baby to be born and his mother. This cannot be, truly God is wise
in making the choice of those he would use to fulfill his purpose.
He showed this same kind of love the second time when he
heeded the warning of the Angel to take Jesus and his mother to
Egypt when Herod made a callous attempt on His life.

Somehow, Joseph still loved Mary and had a measure of trust for
her. although, the circumstance in which the lady found herself is
irrational, but still Joseph would try his best to see her life and the
child’s saved.

If Joseph had chosen to expose Mary, he would have gained the

applause of his Jewish fellows. They would have called him a
righteous man for exposing the sin of a prostitute (the name by
necessity they would have given to Mary). They might even give
him a sit in the synagogue, a place of honor among men and
encourage him to take another wife from another family, but
Joseph went for something else. He was ready to give off this
honor to save Mary and her child.

He would not expose her to the public. Even if his love has been
betrayed he would not betray her. He was not planning for
revenge or a pay back. He was not trying to ‘show her’ and trying
to hurt her back. All he was planning to do was a quite divorce.
The intention was to go to Mary’s parent and the case would be
settled amidst them without going to the religious council. The
betrothal would be nullified without any consequences. After this
is done, the young girl can now be sent to a distanced land for her
child to be born before she returns to her parent. Joseph had this
settled in his mind and was ready to carry it out but God who
have seen how much he loved her and the child to be born
interrupted his plans.

I Hate Divorce

But after he had considered this, an angel of the

Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph
son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home
 as your wife, because what is conceived in her is
from the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 1:20

God intervened at that moment because He hates divorce. It

would be a wrong thing for Jesus the Child to be born to come out
of such a circumstance. In His plan Jesus should have a father and
mother on earth, He is not supposed to come out of a divorce and
get trained by a single mother.

"I hate divorce," says the LORD God of Israel, "and

I hate a man's covering himself with violence as
well as with his garment," says the LORD
Almighty. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do
not break faith.

Malachi 2:16

Divorcing your wife means breaking faith with her. It is dealing

treacherously and faithlessly with your mate. It is cheating the
person. Although, the one who is pulling the divorce process is the
one who seems to have been cheated, but from God’s point of
view, he is the one doing the cheating.

"I hate divorce," says the GOD of Israel. GOD-of-

the-Angel-Armies says, "I hate the violent
dismembering of the 'one flesh' of marriage." So
watch yourselves. Don't let your guard down.
Don't cheat.

Malachi 2:16

In the Law of Moses, only the man was licensed to do this not the
woman, because he is the one who marries, the woman is
married. She takes the woman in and she can, based on a strong
condition justifiable by the Law, give her off. Joseph knew this and
was ready to go through the process discreetly. While the matter
was still a conceived idea in his mind, God came to the scene.
God would not allow this righteous man sin against Him. He is the
Lawgiver, so if he says he hates divorce, it is final and this must
be jealously carried out.

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who

fear him, and he delivers them.

Psalm 34:7

The appearance of the Angel of the Lord to Joseph showed that he

was someone who feared God. During his troubled night as he
considered the present state of his relationship with Mary, with
this great burden of divorcing her secretly, God sent His Angel to
him like He does to all those who fear (reverence) Him. Though he
was in great distress, he still had time to commune with God.

"Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as

your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy
Spirit.” Note that God called Joseph the Son of David here. This is
to show Joseph His intentions within his present circumstances.
There is no evidence he was called this name before this time,
especially in his community. No one would want to identify him
with the Davidic lineage because he is from the lower class, just a
commoner, and a carpenter. Those who were closest to him on
earth could only see a poor man in him, but God in heaven saw
more.

God called him the son of David to show him His plan; it was all
about the revelation of the Messiah who is to come, He is going to
be known as the Son of David just as I called you now. He is the
King of kings one who will sit on the throne of David forever.

Friends you are more than what people around you call you or
what you call yourself. In God’s plan what and who you are is
beyond your present and past. He sees you in the light of the
person He created. He identifies you from an eternal viewpoint
not a carnal position or anything that is earthly bound. All you
need to do to know who you truly are and what He calls you is to
allow Him to reveal yourself to you by revealing Himself to you.
This was what Joseph did.

The day this truth came to Joseph that he is not just the son of
Jacob, his father, but also the son of David, his ancestor, his
mindset changed. If God could reference him this way he believed
what Mary must have told him is the truth. That he is the Son of
David meant that he is connected to the Davidic Covenant of
Kingship and that he is the son of God just as his father David,
thus he can obtain both the divine and legal right to be the
custodian of the Child Marry was to give birth to. Therefore, when
God came to him about the matter of Mary who was with a child
he responded positively and promptly because of this revelation.

Joseph chose to attend to the voice of God and not that of the Law
of Moses for nothing is above His voice. Before he was acting as a
righteous man base on the Law of Moses now his righteousness is
based on God’s voice. People can question his actions, but since
God has spoken, it does not matter.

Joseph, the Husband and Father of Jesus

But after he had considered this, an angel of the

Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph
son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home
as your wife, because what is conceived in her is
from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son,
and you are to give him the name Jesus, because
he will save his people from their sins."

Matthew 1:20-21

The Old Testament Prophet said a lot about the Messiah to come,
but they never saw His coming. Among their brethren, they were
blessed at least for being God’s spokes man on the revelation of
His Son. Joseph was more blessed than all of them because he
was not just told, he saw the birth of the Messiah, it was in his
hands that the Son of God was delivered. He was the first to
behold the King of kings, the Savior of the World. He was the first
to see Christmas come to past.

Apart from Mary who was the first to receive the formal
announcement of the coming Child, Joseph was the second. The
revelation of Jesus, the Savior came to him just as it came to
Mary. They were both told what the Child would be called, Jesus.
The Old Testament Prophet knew the Messiah but they never
knew what His name would be as He lived on earth.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and

the government will be on his shoulders. And he
will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the
increase of his government and peace there will
be no end. He will reign on David's throne and
over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness from that time on
and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will
accomplish this.

Isaiah 9:6-7

They knew in part concerning the name of Jesus, but it was to this
two, Mary and Joseph that the honor of knowing what the child
would be called was given. More was given to Joseph. He became
the father of Jesus because he was the one who named the child,
Jesus. Only the father has the right to call their children what they
would be identified as by men.

During the naming of John the Baptist, the people had to receive
confirmation from Zechariah before accepting that the name of
the child is John even with all the persuasion of the mother. The
reason for this is simply because, only the father of a child has
the right to define what the child would be by his name. Naming a
child in a way is blessing the child. This is the reason parents
should watch the name they give their children. Their names have
so much to do in defining and determining their future.

By accepting to go God’s way in this matter, Joseph will not just

become the husband of Mary; he will also become the father of
the child that she is with.

Still a Virgin

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said
through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child
and will give birth to a son, and they will call him
Immanuel"--which means, "God with us."

What a joy to know that God was the one behind Mary’s
pregnancy; that her pregnancy was to fulfill what the Prophets
has said. The most glorious part of the news for Joseph would be
the fact that Mary is still a virgin even with the baby in her womb.
The depth of this can only be understood by someone in Joseph’s
shoe.

In our world presently as it was then, becoming the husband of a

Virgin is a honor, it is like being the first to partake of a rich wine
that is only meant for royals. It is a thing of pride and it makes the
man feel he married the right person and the best woman on
earth.

For Joseph, hearing that Mary is still a Virgin would be like having
a loved one return back from the dead. This was the crown of his
blessing. Truly, his love really paid off. Mind you, he was ready to
save Mary while he felt she was has been defiled, not because
Mary was a Virgin, but now that he knew Mary is still a Virgin, he
will do more than saving her, he who go ahead to keep her.

There is more to receiving Mary back as a Virgin yet with a child.

Joseph has to show his love towards God by keeping her this way.
Joseph did not defile Mary, he allowed her to remain a virgin till
she gave birth.

Bring Her Home

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of

the Lord had commanded him and took Mary
home as his wife. But he had no union with her
until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the
name Jesus.

Matthew 1:24-25

Joseph did not just hear the Angel’s instruction as he spoke to him
during the night; he took the message to heart and followed it to
detail. He acted the man he had showed himself as before. It
takes a man and a man who can make a compromise to change a
righteous decision. Joseph did not only wait to confirm the
message he went straight ahead to do as he was told.

Joseph did three things as he proved his obedience;

He brought Mary back into his heart

He had divorced Mary first from his heart, for it was an

abomination for him to still hold a defiled woman in her heart.
Now he brought her back into his heart. Just conceiving the
thought of divorce in the heart is enough to break a marriage.

High percent of couples in the world today are already

experiencing heart separation (divorce) though they are still living
in physically together in a castle. Divorce always starts from the
heart of one of the couple before it becomes materialized. It is
when the heart cannot bear it again that it pours out and later
formalizes the thought as a written document.

Joseph had to restore Mary back to her place in his heart before
proceeding further because if he does not do this no matter what
he does afterwards it will not last long. Marital reconciliation
should first be done in the heart before it is made physical
because the separation starts in the heart.

He brought Mary into his Home

He finally brought Mary into his home as his wife. He went ahead
to formalize his marriage, settle all pending issues, and finally
brought her home. He did not wait for any elaborate ceremony.
The most important thing at that time was to bring Mary home.
Thus, he completed the marriage rite.

Do not go into a relationship with someone you are not going to

bring first into your heart then into your home. While waste your
time courting when you already know she will not be brought into
your home. It is a great evil if you are just going out with a guy
with no intention of settling down in his home as his wife.

Husband, you need to understand the fact that you can only have
a home; though you might choose to build many houses you can
only build one home. Do not live your life putting women in
different houses; the house you have put that other woman in is
not a home, it is brothel, she is not a wife she is only a sex mate.

Husband, you need to truly bring your wife home. By bringing her
home, it is not about bringing her to your house, it is more. If
there is, still, a part of your life that she cannot partake in, she is
not yet at home. She is not at home if there is still something you
can hide from her. She is not at home if she cannot give
suggestion, advise you on issues that seems important to you.
She is not at home if you are still denying her any of her rights.
She is not at home if you can still choose to punish her for the
wrongs she do. If you can raise your hand against her, slap her or
hit her, she is not at home. Until she is your partner in whatsoever
you have to do on earth, your first partner (earthly) in all that
concerns you in and out of your house, she is not at home. Until
she is truly the bone of your bones and the flesh of your flesh, the
most essential part of your earthly life, she is not at home.

He is not at home, wife, if you still have something you hold in

high esteem here on earth apart from him. If there is anything
you can intentionally deny him and you know it is his right, he is
not at home. If you still feel shame to introduce him as your
husband in the public; if you are not proud of him, who and what
he is, he is not at home and the obvious truth is that you are the
one who is not at home with him. Your home is with another
person; your heart is the home of another. Bring your husband
back home.

Is your spouse at home or in the house, is he or she outside or

inside? You need to check this so that you can do what is right.
Until both parties are truly at home, and God is with them at
home, they cannot experience the bliss of Marriage as it was
intended. Does your spouse fill it all or just a part of it? Does he or
she cloud your heart; fill it as it is expected? You should consider
this and do that which is right and I tell you the right thing is to
bring him and bring her home.

He gave Mary and her child the needed security

Joseph had no sexual union with her until she gave birth to her
conceived child. For him bringing her home was not just about
sexual intercourse. He did not return her to her rightful place
because he wanted to have her duly or unduly. Bringing her home
was to give her the security she needed most at that point in her
life.

Many go into quick fix marriages because they cannot control

their sexual urges. ‘Let us settle the issue of marriage ceremony
since we are Christians and for the sake of good morals so that we
can start the main thing,’ they say. Without hesitating, the night
of the ceremony is the night for the main thing.
Sexual intercourse does not make a house a home. Sex does not
build a home. Sex cannot sustain the home. A home made and
built through sex intercourse will one day crumble because of the
same. Sexual intercourse is an essential part of a marriage, but it
must not be made its foundation or the main thing in it. Sexual
intercourse must become the sustaining strength of your home. A
home cannot be sustained by lovemaking but by love; not love as
a thing but as a person, God. Several homes have been destroyed
by the use and misuse of this important aspect of marriage.

Joseph proved that he is a loving and righteous man as he kept

Mary safe. He allowed her to go through the process of carrying
the child for nine month without coming near her. The implication
of this is that if he had mated with her while she was still
pregnant he would have defiled the child not just Mary alone.
Although, biologically he might not be able to add to the genetic
character of the baby through a sexual intercourse after
conception has already happened still he would have changed
Mary’s virgin status. Mary would have just had the record of
conceiving Jesus as a virgin but not delivering him as a virgin.

Jesus must be given birth to by a virgin as the prophecy

concerning His birth says, this Joseph knows so well and he kept
to it. He did not, out of lust, disobey the demands of this prophecy
instead, he saw to its fulfillment. For Joseph there is a greater
honor in adopting and accepting Jesus has his first Son though he
had no great inheritance to prepare for him, than wanting to
defile His birth into this word by defiling the womb preparing Him
for His birth. What love and worth of understanding is there to
give to a woman other than this. Of a truth Joseph so loved Mary
and he was devoted to his love for God and His will.

There is another thing to add for the sake of possibility, especially

because we do not know the stage of Mary’s pregnancy as at the
time he brought her home. If the pregnancy was at its early stage
and it was possible for Joseph to interfere with the just conceived
baby, then there would be a greater problem. Biologically it is
quite possible for a baby in the womb to become infected by any
virus transferrable by blood even if the one who mated with the
woman was not infected by such at first. If the woman mates with
some else who is a carrier of the virus at any stage of her
pregnancy she would become infected by the virus as well as her
unborn baby, except by a miracle. All that this is trying to create
as a possibility is the damage that Joseph would have caused the
baby to be delivered by Mary. If this were possible, then the Jesus
who would come out of Mary will be one that is Sin-born one who
has an input of Sin in him. The Sin not just being that of blood
transfer alone but also that of the condition he came out of, he
came out of a woman who had been with two people, God and
Man, thus, a mixture of good and evil.

For you know that it was not with perishable

things such as silver or gold that you were
redeemed from the empty way of life handed
down to you from your forefathers, but with the
precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or
defect.

1Peter 1:18-19

All praise be to God that Joseph was an honorable man. Even if

there would be no consequence at all, it would have been an
error, an evil thing for him to have done so. His love for Mary and
the baby would have been defeated. That the human race had a
blemish lamb for the sacrifice of their sin is partly because of the
love that this man showed to his wife and her child. God truly
chose the right person for this task. His love brought Jesus into
this world, it watched over this child until the day he was given
birth to in the manger. It was an unconditional love, the love that
Christmas seeks to present to mankind.
You can love like Joseph if you are ready to think about what God
wants at all times and in all circumstances. You can love like
Joseph if you would look for and seek to serve the interest of
others first before yours. If you love without expecting or thinking
about earthly gains then your love is similar to that of Joseph; it is
the love of Christmas.

O Lord give to us all this love that loves without seeking

for gains. Give us the love that is so eternal conscious
than earthly conscious.

Chapter THREE

MEET THE BIBLICAL MARY(S)

Just as we did in the case of Joseph, let us also consider some of

the Mary(s) who featured in the Bible accounts especially in the
New Testament. Six women bore the name ‘Mary’ in the New
Testament. Actually there was no direct reference to this name in
the Old Testament except for what look so close to it, ‘Miriam’ the
prophetess, the sister of Aaron (Exodus 15:20). The six mentioned
in the New Testament possessed extraordinary characters and all
had one thing or the other that related them to Christmas,
especially to Jesus Christ. They were normal women found in
circumstances beyond the normal and they truly proved the
content of their name, Mary, ‘God’s gift’. To their generation and
the entire human race, they are truly God’s gift.

Mary Magdalene
As described in the Bible, Mary Magdalene, out of whom Jesus
cast out seven devils, her story is quite relevant to our times filled
with lots of wrong notions concerning the life of the female folks
generally. It is traditionally believed that most women, if not all,
are witches, meaning that they are possessed by demons. They
are referred to as the weaker vessel in nature because of their
emotional instability, which is believed, allows the devil to
influence them easily. Those who have been found with demonic
spirits of any kind or caught in the act of a practice of spiritism
are lined up for death and ascribed as irrelevant to the society, an
outcast. Instead of casting out the demons in them hereby, saving
their lives, they are cast out to waste away with the demon.

Mary who lived around the vicinity called Magdala was shown the
mercy that many in this present world are not being shown. The
Bible does not reveal her background and how she became
possessed, but we can deduce what her state was like in the past
from the accounts of other demonically possessed women in
biblical account. The case of the demon possessed girl who
followed Paul and Silas about (Acts 16:16-18), the daughter of the
Canaanite woman brought to Jesus (Matthew 15:21-28), and
others show what Mary’s life must have been like then especially
before she met Jesus. Since

In the New Testament times, demonic possession is not limited to

doing evil, it is includes the devil making people’s lives useless.
The case of the boy who goes into convulsion whenever the evil
spirit possesses him, throwing him into the fire (Luke 9:38-39), as
well as that of the man of Gadarenes who lived in the tomb
possessed by many spirits, Legion (Mark 5:1-15), point to what
Mary must have gone through while she was possessed by the
devil.

Her past was not recorded because it became outdated (a thing of

the past) when she met Jesus. Her past was removed completely
from the tale of her history as she now rewrites her history
through Jesus. This is what happens to those who have truly met
with Jesus, the past is lost for the gain of eternity.

Mary Magdalene was shown so great a love by Jesus. Seven

demons were sent out of and she was released from the bondage
of the evil one. She was not just delivered from demonic
possession; she was also set free from sin to live a new life as the
disciple of Jesus. Her heart, which belonged to the devil before
now belongs to Jesus. She followed Jesus and never strayed away.

Then the disciples went back to their homes, but

Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept,
she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two
angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had
been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

John 20:10-12

When it was the time for the disciples to leave the Master
physically, Mary refused to. She found it is so hard to quickly path
away from the one who saved her from destruction. Though she
did not understand fully why Jesus had to leave since she was not
among the three disciples who were closest to Jesus, she still
decided to stay behind while others left. She was satisfied with
the fact that the master died but death could not separate her
from her Lord. She still wants to be where Jesus was laid.

O! For such love I long, for such devotion I desire, that nothing
here on earth or in heaven would be able to separate You from
me. Where You are, there I always want to be.

Mary must have known something about the resurrection of Jesus

as she held unto at this truth while she was at the tomb. She
refused to doubt the resurrection that Jesus had talked about.
Mary stood at the tomb both in weakness as she wept thinking
her Master’s death body has been stolen, and in fear, though she
believed the fact that her Master will resurrect from the dead.
Yes, she could not recognize her Lord when He appeared to her
but it was not because she was totally blind to this but because
her Master had taken a new form, the resurrected body. Her words
to the one she thought was just a tomb Gardner showed how
much she loved her Lord.

"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it

you are looking for?" Thinking he was the
gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him
away, tell me where you have put him, and I will
get him."

John 20:15

Mary did not just love Jesus in his dead state like many people do
in the world today. There is the saying that you do cannot
appreciate what you have until it is taken from you. Mary’s love
was as true to Jesus in his dead state as it was while he was alive.
Although she could not recognize Jesus in His new form, she
recognized His voice. When her name was mentioned, she could
not but recognize her Master’s voice. She knew that only her
Master calls her the way the individual did. She did not miss that
voice; her ears have not been given to other things, things that
pertain to this earth. In her distressed state she did not miss this
important voice.

Help me Lord to recognize Your voice this way. To hear you when
You call my name, to always be available to listen to You when
You call on me. No matter what state I am, may I not miss Your
sweet voice.

Mary knew and saw Jesus in His life, suffering, death and
resurrection. She must also have been there at His ascension.
What a blessing! She had this experience because she loved to
follow no matter the cost. While she chose to wait at the tomb
while others left not minding the consequences was because of
her undying love for the One who first loved her.
Mary was indeed blessed. She was an unknown Apostle, being the
first witness to the resurrection and the one who first proclaimed
the resurrection of Jesus. “I have seen the Lord”, she screamed
when she met with the Disciples of Jesus. She witnessed the
resurrection of Jesus Christ to them. She is the first witness of this
Goodnews. The male Apostles did not accept or believe her
Gospel because she was a female and because they had just left
the burial site, but this does not change the fact that she was the
first to proclaim the Gospel. She preached to those who later on
became great preacher, what a great blessing. She ran with the
Gospel so fast that nothing on earth could stop her. She did not
just run because of mere excitement but because she has seen
the Lord. The truth is that no one who sees the Lord find it difficult
to run with the Goodnews.

Mary was blessed this much because she waited just a little more
while others left. She sought after the body of her Lord all alone
not minding if she was going to be attacked by Roman soldiers
who were there in the garden to guard the tomb. She was all out
to find Jesus. You might say she was looking for a dead body
perhaps she wanted to worship the dead body, which tend
towards idolatry, but the truth of the matter is she was seeking
for Jesus as if he was still alive. Truly, Jesus was alive in her heart.
She might be portrayed as a weak person earlier, but after she
saw the Lord, her weakness was turned to strength.

Men and women of God, we need to learn to wait a little more,

give a little more to our search for Jesus. If many leave, we should
not. To see the Lord cost just waiting and waiting more in His
presence. Those who wait on the Lord renew their strength but
those who wait and wait more sees the Lord. Before you start
going out to run with the Gospel, why not first wait on the Lord.
Do not leave your Jerusalem yet, wait for the gift that the Father
promised (Acts 1:4b).
Waiting for others and waiting on others are acts of love. When
we wait more so we can see the Master and be with Him, we also
show Him, we do not love Him because of the things He wants to
give; rather our love is for Him, the giver. Those who are in haste
to go out and run with the Gospel or those who easily give up in
the place of waiting show they are filled with lust for the things of
this world and not the Love of God. Wait, servant of God, even if it
seems He delays, for He will surely come. No matter what your
situation is, if you wait and wait more your end will read this, ‘I
have seen the Lord.’

Wait for the Lord, wait in the righteousness that

comes from His love, wait in the hope of His love,
wait in the fear (reference) of his love, wait even
when all others run away and seem to be running
so fast. Blessed is he whose master finds doing so
when He returns.

Psalm 27:14 (Amplified Bible)

Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave

and of good courage and let your heart be stout
and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and
expect the Lord. I pray to GOD--my life a prayer--
and wait for what he'll say and do.

Psalm 130:5-6 (Message)

I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the

end he will stand upon the earth. And after my
skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see
God; I myself will see him with my own eyes-- I,
and not another. How my heart yearns within me!

Job 19:25-27

Mary of Bethany
Mary of Bethany is the sister of Martha and Lazarus the friend of
Jesus Christ. If Lazarus was Jesus’ friend, it means Jesus was
Mary’s uncle or brother. While Jesus picked this form of interest in
this family, no one knows, but it is quite clear that they
distinguished themselves with their hospitality.

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he

came to a village where a woman named Martha
opened her home to him.

Luke 10:38

At first, Bethany was just a common village, but due to the

hospitality of this family, it became a place well spoken off as the
haven of Jesus and His disciples on their missionary journey.

Once while Jesus told His disciples they would be going back to
this region their response was a reference to the fact that what
this family chose to do was not a little thing.

Then he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to

Judea." "But Rabbi," they said, "a short while ago
the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going
back there?"

John 11:7-8

It was at this same region the Jews chose to be indignant with

Jesus that Martha opened her home to Jesus. She chose to love
Jesus even if everyone in her land had dedicated their lives to
hating and persecuting Him. Everyone as an individual has to
choose what we will do to Jesus. Even if you are from a
background of people who hates Jesus or you live among those
who have sworn that all their generations must work against His
course, you still have to decide on your own what you want to do
with Jesus. Your decision concerning this matter is a personal one,
not a societal or group thing.
Amidst all odds, Martha chose to open the door of her home for
Jesus to come in. When others closed theirs, she opened hers.
Jesus did not just come into her home alone; He also came into
her heart, her brother’s heart and that of her sister’s, Mary.

The truth is, only those who open their heart for Jesus to come in
can have Jesus’ home in heaven opened to them at the end of this
world. No one opens his heart for Jesus who does not open his
home to Him. He cannot come into your home if He has not come
into your heart. We do a lot in the world today trying to bring
Jesus into our situation without considering bringing Him into our
hearts. The vehicle that He uses to come into our home and our
situation is our heart. If we work on bringing Him fully into our
hearts, we will have our homes full of Jesus and full of His light.

There are several people in the world today, who have opened
their homes to Jesus just as Martha did. Regardless of how much
they do what they do, they are the caretakers of His ministry on
earth. These people use their lives, materials (resources), wealth
and riches, wisdom and intelligence, words and worth to progress
the work of Christ. They fund and sponsor missions and mission
outreaches, home and foreign missions, seeing to the welfare of
God’s servants, orphans, widows, needy of all kinds. They sponsor
campaigns that are geared toward improving humanity generally
and saving men from destruction. They live to give all God has
given them back to Him having first given their lives (hearts)
without any reserves to Him. With pure motives and desires, they
have made their lives and homes the pot that Jesus can feed from
all the times.

When are you going to join this triumphant people, those who are
living Christmas (the life of Christ) in its true sense, those who do
not have to wait for Christmas day before they give the love of
God to others? When will your home become a place where
Christmas is a daily celebration, a resort and place of comfort for
those in need; a place where the Church, God’s Children,
fellowship daily, and a cell where godly counsel is issued out to
save nations, families and lives?

Martha and her family did not just open their home for Jesus they
gave Him full participation in it. Note that the Bible did not say
that they opened their house for Jesus to enter into, instead it was
their home they opened; their home, their family life, not just the
tent of their family but the content, their family values, lifestyle
and all there is that make them a unit. It was from this type of
opening up for Jesus that the case of Mary came in. What Martha
her sister did, she did more.

In the three instances where her story was referenced she showed
that there is more to bringing Jesus into ones heart and home. In
the first case, she was at the feet of the Master who was already
in her home. She was not there at His feet licking His feet or
untying her shoelaces or just there for the fun of it, she was there
listening to the Master. She did not bring the Master into her heart
and her home just to have Him sit down or be attended to; she
brought Him in so the Master can work upon her life. She gave
herself totally to the Master. While her sister was busy trying to
attend to the Master’s need, she gave herself to the Master to be
attended to. This is the evidence of love that has started growing
in Mary. What Martha was doing though seems as love but it was
just a sign of love, a show-off love not true love.

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he

came to a village where a woman named Martha
opened her home to him. She had a sister called
Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what
he said. But Martha was distracted by all the
preparations that had to be made. She came to
him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my
sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell
her to help me!"
 Luke 10:38-40

While others were busy running here and there, she chose to sit
down. She chose to listen to the Master first before she starts
running here and there to serve Him.

And he ordained twelve, that they should be with

him, and that he might send them forth to preach,

Mark 3:14

Servant of God, it is to this you are called, sitting down at His feet,
being with Him so that He can work on Him. You cannot work for
Him if He has not first worked on you. The first and best place of
service in ministry is at the feet of Jesus. Our primary calling is to
be with Jesus; no matter how long it takes, it pays at the end. Stay
with Him in His incubator; do not rush out prematurely.

Martha changed the order of things and she landed herself in

great worries. Though very serious at and zealous for service, the
summation of all her ministry from the eye of Jesus is distraction.
Why get distracted when you ought to stay attracted to Jesus?

But Martha was distracted by all the preparations

that had to be made. She came to him and asked,
"Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to
do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are
worried and upset about many things, but only
one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is
better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Luke 10:41-42

All other forms of ministry have their time limit and expiry date;
only this one is an eternal ministry. Every other ministry can be
taken away from you, but sitting at the feet of Jesus, being with
Him all the way, can never be taken away from you. This is the
main reason the devil sees to it that few men are in this ministry.
He will allow them to continue to run after other ministries
knowing that soon either the ministry will be taken from them or
they will be taken from the ministry, but he will do his best to see
to it that they will not give them self to being with Jesus. He
knows this ministry cannot be taken away from them.

Martha sought in anger and desperation for help in her service for
Jesus and the needed help was not made available to her because
she was doing a wrong ministry at the wrong time. In her eyes,
she was the one serving Jesus, the one showing greatest love and
she deserved some recommendation and help. However, in the
eyes of the Master, she was doing an unprofitable work. What the
Master considered was her motives of service and her
understanding of what it means to serve Him. Considering these
two, she was found faulty. Her hearts have been filled with great
corruptions that she could even see that Mary was not doing what
she was doing and she picked offence in her actions to show the
level of her frustration. No one gets frustrated while doing the
right thing.

To Martha Jesus was saying, ‘one thing is needed now and it is for
everyone to listen to Me. My time is drawing near; I will not be
with you forever (in this physical form). Now that you can see me,
one thing is most needful and Mary, your sister has chosen to
plunge into it. Your sister has caught this revelation because she
loves sitting at my feet. I cannot take this away from her; if I do, I
will become the evil one. If I ask her to stand up from this
precious position she has chosen to the one you loved, I will be
committing a great act of injustice. You ought to change your
position. You can leave or suspend what you are doing for its
appropriate time. There would be more time for you all to serve
me, while I am gone, but now you need to sit down and listen.
Listen but do not just listen alone, grow as you do. I called the
twelve to be with me so they could grow in me.’
What He said to Martha, He is saying to us today. Yes, He has
called you into a life of service, but this service will be without
merit if it is not aided by timely and continuous hearing from the
Master. Instead of going to Him all the time, why not stay with
Him all the time? Stay patiently at His side; watch Him do His
works. Through this, you will understand His way. When a servant
sits besides his master to listen to him, he gains more for himself
than just going out running errands for Him. It is wisdom to stay
at Jesus’ feet. This wisdom should be cultivated by all Christians.
We make His heart glad when we find time for personal fellowship
with Him. He is with us all the time; He wants us to be with all the
time.

The second case of Mary’s position at Jesus feet as her evidence

of love for the Master was at the site where Lazarus her brother
was buried. Just as it was in the first case, her love for Jesus would
be compared to that of her sister, Martha.

One of the important lessons that can be drawn from the account
of the restoration of Lazarus to life after four days is the power of
Jesus over death. With this He showed Himself as a Prophet, but
His kind was different because none in the history of Israel had
risen up a four-year-old dead body. He was more than all the
Prophets because He owns not just the power over death; He also
has the power of life. He is the life giving Messiah. Jesus
conquered death by the resurrection He experienced from death.
No one in the history of the human race has ever experienced
something similar.

Looking at the account from it unset there is more to learn than

the glaring lessons of the power of Jesus over life and death. The
ways and manner of the love Jesus gave seems more profound a
lesson than the earlier mentioned one, and what made Mary
different from Martha in this case was her understanding of this
love.
When Jesus heard of the sickness of Lazarus His friend and how
worried his sisters were, the Bible records that He waited for two
days before making any move towards their home.

Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet

when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed
where he was two more days.

John 11:5-6

If truly Jesus loved Lazarus why did He tarry a minute? Does it not
mean, He loved them less by tarrying even for a second? These
same people opened their home unto Him. Waiting for two more
days meant that He allowed Lazarus to go on with the pains of his
sickness and the two sisters to go on with their worries. If He
loved them, why would He allow them suffer?

The disciples once asked Jesus a similar question about the case
of the man who was born blind. ‘Who sinned, on whose account is
this man made to go through this suffering, was it because of his
sin, his parent’s or was it because God does not love him (John
9:2-3 emphasis mine)? His answer to their all-important question
was, his situation was for God’s work to be made manifest in him,
for God to be glorified. At the end of his case, God was truly
glorified.

Friend, what He allows in your life, what He stayed for two more
days away from your home, what looks as if He will never attend
to, is to the glory of God. He tarried that is if your case seems so,
because He wants to show you the depth of His love for you. God
is more glorified in the darkest of all situations than when all
seems bright and beautiful.

It is in the culture of man to think God disappoints or He comes

around late, but He never does. God is always punctual because
He created time.
His (Jesus) waiting was intentional. Without being told, Jesus knew
Lazarus died after wards and He was set to go and bring Him back
to life. He plans to reveal how much He loved Lazarus and the two
sisters through bringing the dead man back to life. Lazarus will
not just experience the love of Jesus; he will also become an
object of His love. He will become someone through whom He can
reveal His love to others. If it was just about healing him, it would
just be a love shown to him alone, but when it is about bringing
him back to life, this love would become manifest to all. The best
act of love comes when the challenge is overwhelmingly great.

Jesus shows that He loves us more when He shows His

love to others through us

Just by weeping by the tomb of Lazarus, the people said, ‘see how
he loved him’ (John 11:35-36), but when He raised the dead man
up, He was showing them that He loved them and that it was for
this reason He came to the earth.

But some of them said, "Could not he who opened

the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from
dying?"

John 11:37

In their foolishness, they failed to see all that happened in

Lazarus’ life was for them. They only knew that He could keep a
man from dying but they never know He could also raise him up
from his dead state. Jesus was showing them their spiritual state
and what He is able to do but they failed to see this all-important
matter.

When Jesus got to the scene after four days of making himself
absent the first person to attend to Him was Martha. She rushed
out to meet with the Master as against Mary’s sitting down
waiting for His arrival.
 "Lord," Martha said to Jesus,” But I know that even
now God will give you whatever you ask."

John 11:21-22

This is faith in action. Of a truth, if Jesus was there when Lazarus

was sick, he might have not died. ‘Might not have died,’ because
Jesus can still allow him to die if that would be to God’s glory.
Which means that Jesus’ presence does not outrightly determines
what happens in any situation, the glory of God does.

Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."

Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the
resurrection at the last day." Jesus said to her, "I
am the resurrection and the life. He who believes
in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever
lives and believes in me will never die. Do you
believe this?" "Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe
that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was
to come into the world."

John 11:23-27

Martha showed her knowledge of the person Jesus is but not what
He can do. She showed she knows nothing about Jesus power to
raise the dead. When Jesus drew near to the grave, it was this
same Martha who out of disbelieve said, ‘by this time there is a
bad odor for he has been there for four days.’ Even if she believed
Jesus could raise the dead, she never believed He could raise a
four-day- old dead body. She had limited knowledge of what the
Master can do thus limited faith in His works. How would she have
such a faith since she did not have the zeal for hearing the Master
speak? ‘Faith comes through hearing the word of God (Romans
10:17).

Mary of Bethany on the other hand first received the words of the
Master’s coming into her situation and with great enthusiasm
went to meet with Him. It was after the Master asked for her that
she went to meet Him. She was waiting patiently until her Lord
came.

On getting to the place where Jesus was, she fell at His feet and
repeated the same thing her sister said earlier, ‘Lord, if you had
been here, my brother would not have died.’ To her Jesus did not
say anything, instead He was deeply moved. He was not moved
because of the death of Lazarus or because of the crowd who
came behind, neither was it because of Martha’s unbelief; it was
because of the humility borne out of the love Mary displayed.
Mary said just the same thing as her sister but the way and
manner of her disposition as she uttered those words moved the
Master’s heart.

Before talking and sharing her pains with the Master, she fell at
His feet both to reference Him and to listen to what He was going
to say concerning her brother’s situation. She showed her
submission to the Master’s will. What a love for Jesus even while
she was suffering a loss.

Her tears touched the Master’s feet and this cannot be left
unattended to. ‘He was moved in His Spirit and troubled,’ this is
what the tears shed at His feet poured out in reference of and
submission to His will, can do. Jesus would not have Mary
continue to weep because are tears moved both the crowd and
His heart. Hers was tears poured out of a loving heart and cannot
but receive a loving response.

‘Where have you laid him,’ Jesus asked. There was no time for
doctrinal matters anymore, no time for saying He is the
resurrection and life because this Mary had proven she knows the
truth and believes Jesus can do all things with all of her heart. She
had maintained her position at the feet of her Lord, there she
listened to the Master and there she believed the Master would
listen to her.
At the foot of the Cross where all burdens can be laid bare, there
our tears are made a pure expression of our fellowship with Jesus.
Whatsoever we bring to the foot of His Cross becomes a
fellowship with His suffering. When we cling to His Cross, we can
pour our cup empty and have it filled with His grace. At Cross,
Jesus tells us, ‘through it all My grace is sufficient for you.’

Go through the Cross instead of running around to mountains and

valleys. Going to the Cross means humbling yourself and
submitting yourself to His will. It means going into His presence as
an unjust sinner saved by grace and proclaiming His love in your
situation no matter what it seems like. This was what Mary of
Bethany did when she threw herself to the feet of her Master this
second time. Mary knew that her Master loved her no matter
what. Allowing Lazarus to die was one of His ways of showing to
her the depth of His love.

The third and final instance of Mary’s position of love at the

Master’s feet was the most remarkable one. This happened after
she had showed her love for Jesus as she poured out her burdens
at His feet.

Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at

Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had
raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in
Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was
among those reclining at the table with him. Then
Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive
perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped
his feet with her hair. And the house was filled
with the fragrance of the perfume.

John 12:1-3

Close to the time of His crucifixion as He moved towards

Jerusalem, for a Triumphant Entry, Jesus as His usual act stayed
by at Bethany to fellowship with His friends. A dinner was given in
His honor for the reason that was not stated clearly. It could be to
thank Him for raising Lazarus up from the dead or because they
were biding Him farewell as He journeyed towards Jerusalem.
Martha served as usual while Lazarus the new born, honored and
glorified for coming back from the dead sat down to eat with the
Master. Where was Mary during this important role call?

Mary was not at any place other than the feet of Jesus. This time
she was not there to listen to the Master speak neither was she
there to pour out her burden to Him, instead she was there to
pour out HER ALL on Him. She brought the best of all she had,
presented it at the feet of her Lord and left it all there. She poured
out a jar of pure (costly) oil on Jesus’ feet and used her hair to
wipe His feet until the house was filled with its fragrance. She was
not just giving what she had; she gave the best and gave herself
as well.

What is the significance of this act great? She did not pour the oil
on the head of Jesus because that would have represented a form
of superiority over Jesus. It would have meant she was a priest or
a prophet anointing a king or an official in the king’s court. She
poured it on His feet as a sign of being the lesser one, a servant.
Mary was expressing a sense of total servanthood buy using her
hair to wipe off the feet that she poured her oil.

In other Gospel accounts that related this incident it was stated

that the woman poured her oil on the head of the Master
(Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9). That a woman can pour oil on a
man’s head in the land of the Jews is kind of a probability,
especially because their recipients were more Jewish than Gentile.
For the second set of people, a woman pouring a jar of oil on the
head of a man is not a problem it only exemplifies genuine love
and submission. John’s account presented it in such a way that
the audience will see both the love of the woman, her humility,
submission and open show of gratitude void of any form of
shame.
 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things
under his power, and that he had come from God
and was returning to God; so he got up from the
meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a
towel around his waist. After that, he poured water
into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet,
drying them with the towel that was wrapped
around him.

John 13:3-5

Jesus taught His disciples this lesson in a latter time after Mary’s
good gesture. This was His pragmatic attempt to show them the
lesson in what Mary did. It is the role of the servant (slave) of the
house to wash the feet of the Master of the house and other
visitors as they enter into the house. Jesus poured water into a
basin to wash His disciple’s feet, took a towel to dry off the water.
He showed them what it is to be a great person. This should
remind them and cause them to understand what Mary did at an
earlier time.

The motive of Mary was so pure and she came just as she was
without knowing the eternal significance of what she was doing.
She just came to show her love to Jesus without knowing that she
has done more.

But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was

later to betray him, objected,"Why wasn't this
perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It
was worth a year's wages." He did not say this
because he cared about the poor but because he
was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used
to help himself to what was put into it. "Leave her
alone," Jesus replied. "[It was intended] that she
should save this perfume for the day of my burial.

John 12:4-7
Judas Iscariot had something better that Mary should have done
with her oil. ‘Why would you waste such costly oil on Jesus,
pouring it on His feet as if you were pouring water? What you are
wasting is worth a year wage for an able-bodied man, if it is sold.
Its proceeds can be used to feed the poor people, lots and lots of
them. Why waste the oil when you can use it in a better way?’ He
must have asked this not too important question. From a logical
position, is it not better to feed hundred poor people with what
you have instead of giving it as a gift to just one rich man? Was
Jesus then selfish when He allowed Mary to pour her oil on Him
instead of allowing her to save the poor with it?

Jesus who knew all things saw a greater thing behind this giving
more than what Judas could see, even better than Mary the giver
could. “It was intended,” He said. “What you see happening today
has been divinely planned. Her actions were prompted by God so
that My body can be prepared for a burial to soon come after My
death,” Jesus reiterated.

Saving it for the day of His burial meant, what Mary was doing
now as a direct link to His death and burial, which was to happen
soon. Mary came to announce the closeness of His death to Him.
Through her acts of love, she was showing what the Master would
soon do in pouring out His life for the salvation of the World. Soon,
He will be dead and buried and in the preparation of His body for
the tomb, He will receive the same worth of anointing.

This story did not end there. It was recorded that on the day of His
resurrection thinking He were still dead, some women (Mary
Magdalene and other Mary, possibly, this Mary of Bethany,
Matthew 28:1) took spices made out of pure oil to the tomb to
anoint His dead body. They were unable to show this gesture
because Jesus Christ had risen from the dead before they got
there. Truly, what Mary did, then, was what was expected done
before the resurrection. She accomplished a task that others
desired to do but could not. She did not have to wait for the day
His dead body would need an anointing. She gave her love to her
Master, while she could.

Do not save your love for a latter day, give it now. Do not think
your love would be most appreciable at a latter date, do it now
and leave the judgment to the receiver. The person might not be
there again when you finally decide to show your love.

"Leave her alone," Jesus replied. "[It was intended]

that she should save this perfume for the day of
my burial. You will always have the poor among
you, but you will not always have me."

John 12:7-8

Judas was thinking about helping the poor now but not always. He
never thought about his Master because he felt Jesus would
always be around. Jesus made this clear that they would have the
poor with them always but not Him. So why not give all you can to
Me now while you can and worry about giving to others what you
can always.

Do not carelessly mistake the gift you can give now for what you
can give always. The poor you will have always, but your family,
that person around you should be loved now. Now is the best time
to give love not later. Do not go out looking for the poor, you have
them around you.

There is love to give now and there is the one to give always.
Giving becomes loving when we understand this pattern correctly.
Love should both be given all the time but most importantly, it
should be given now. There are people who you will never meet
again and there are those who will always be around. The truth is
when you give love in a Now sense, you will give it always. When
you give in a now sense you give all and your best. When you
give your gift to someone as if you will not meet that person
again not because you do not want to, you give your best. When
next you are offered the opportunity to give you will still give the
same way. Give always as if that would be the last time. That was
Mary’s way of giving. For her it was as if she would have no other
opportunity to give; this was the last time, so she gave the best
she had and all she had. Jesus knew her given would be the last
directly and He received it that way. It was good that Mary poured
her oil on His feet, though it was not of His body, His body never
lacked oil enough for the grave.

Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath

needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is
clean. And you are clean, though not every one of
you."

John 13:10

Jesus’ body has already been prepared for the cross and the grave
by His Father even before this time. He has had an oil bath in
Heaven before this time. All that was need now was just to pour it
again on His feet and that Mary did so well. She did not give the
oil to the Master has a gift; she poured it, all of it. It would have
meant less if she had just brought it as a gift, pouring it made it
more than a gift. As she poured the oil in her hands, she was
giving her love and life as a living offering to the Master. She
came as a worshipper not as a giver, she came with a gift of love
not just a gift, she came to pour herself as an offering not just her
oil. She bowed at the Master’s feet and used her hair as towel to
wipe the oil off as an act of fellowship. Her hair is the symbol of
her glory, this she offered for the use of the Master. She made her
glory count as nothing; she gave it all to Him becoming nothing
for Him. She despised the shame and bore the dishonor.

“What are you doing Mary?” Her mates would ask her. Do you not
know that the oil can destroy your hair and spoil your beauty?
Don’t you know that the guys who were admiring you would no
longer do so if they see you ridiculing your image at the feet of
Jesus? Mary what do you want to gain out of all this, are you that
foolish?

Mary was not seeing just an act of service in her action; she was
in a height of communion with Jesus. She was relating with Jesus
in such a way that no one has ever. She was pouring her all,
consecrating herself for the use of the Master. Mary did not just
touch the feet of Jesus, she touched His heart.

May all I do touch your heart, dear Lord. May I do all in worship of
who You are. Deep love for You, give to me. Deeper love my heart
yearns. A life devoted to You, fully given out to You.

I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is

preached throughout the world, what she has
done will also be told, in memory of her."

Matthew 26:13

What other reward should be extended to such a lover, than for

her deeds to become a Gospel we preach. Her deeds did not
perish. Wherever the Gospel is preached, wherever Christmas is
made mention of, this worth of love cannot but be mentioned.
Hers was true love and like Apostle Paul rightly said, ‘Love never
fails when all else does,’ (1Corinthians 13:8). Mary gave the love
of Christmas, so wherever the Gospel about the death and
resurrection of Jesus is echoed, her deeds will also be mentioned.
Though, she was not there when the wise men gave three gifts to
the baby Jesus when Christmas was announced to the world, she
was there to give her best when Christmas was about to become
fulfilled.

My life I give to you this day as a gift of love. It is the only thing
that can last beyond time. All that is in my hand that I have to
give will perish one day. I give not just the best part of my life, my
time, my ambition and the rest to you, I give all, all that I am will
ever be, I give as a token of my love for He who first loved Me
and gave Himself for me. His love, I can never repay, but will
always proclaim.

To those who have the type of Judas’ love and are purse carriers
like him, it is good to have you know that if you truly care for the
poor, you will not have a purse or a bag. You will have no place
(technically) to keep or store up what you have gathered for a
future, because true giving is not done in the future it is done
now. You will always give all you have now. Until you have
completely emptied your purse, you will not stop giving. No one
gives his all to others who have not first poured is all out for the
use of Jesus. To love the poor genuinely, you have to first love
Jesus. If you say, you love the poor without loving Jesus; you only
love the purse like Judas.

Mary, the wife of Clopas

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his

mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary
Magdalene.

John 19:25

Not so many people were there at the Cross when Jesus was going
through His last moments before His death. Several close people
ran away, even most of the disciples did, possibly because they
were afraid for their lives or they could not bear the pain their
Lord was going through. Among those who stayed was Mary the
wife of Clopas. She was not Mary Magdalene or Mary the mother
of Jesus neither was she the sister of Jesus’ mother, she was just
Mary the wife of Clopas. The other people near the Cross had
important and recognizable reasons for being there, but why this
Mary was there, no one knows.

That she is the wife of someone meant that she must also be the
mother of someone, meaning she had a home to attend to;
instead, she chose to be at the Cross. Perhaps she was also
related to Mary the mother of Jesus. Maybe, she was her friend,
but if that were the case, it would have been indicated since the
Bible made mention of Mary’s sister. In all, on whatever ground,
this particular Mary must have been a disciple of Jesus just like
Mary Magdalene.

She was not ready to miss the experience of the Cross for any
reason. Being a family woman was not enough to deny her of this
awesome experience. She followed while the Master was alive;
she was ready to follow Him to the Cross. She was ready to share
of the experience of the suffering of Jesus. How would she truly
share if she was not there to see Him in His suffering?

This woman was not ready to deny her Master, she was ready to
identify herself as the friend and disciple of Jesus. Perhaps her
husband was a renowned person in the land, or he might have
been among those who wanted the Master dead. May be she was
the wife of the man named Cleopas one of two disciples on the
road towards Emmaus (Luke 24:18). Whatsoever was her
connection to Jesus in the physical does not matter in this case,
what is of importance is that this woman stood near the Cross and
watched Jesus died. Her deed was what a mention by the
Gospellers as one of the true witness to the death of Jesus Christ.

She had a firsthand experience of the crucifixion and death of

Jesus. These events were reported to her. She shared of the
moment of His suffering and must have been among the women
who went to see Him at the tomb. Nothing else would have made
her to stay by the Cross than the love she has for Jesus. This love
drove all her fears away such that she was able to register her
name among those who saw Jesus died on the cross.

Her gift of love brought her husband’s name into the Scripture.
Perhaps no one would have known this man if not for his wife’s
determination to stand near the Cross whatsoever the
consequence might be. Though she did not help Jesus carry His
cross as one Simon from Cyrene did, she stood by the Cross as a
witness to what Jesus went through. Like several other women,
she was not there to mock Jesus, instead she was there to weep
for Him and unknowingly cheer Him into glory.

Many so called Christians are running away from this same thing
today. They do not want to identify themselves with the Cross of
Jesus. They do not want the world to see that they have been
crucified with Christ. They call themselves Christian while they
live so far away from the Cross instead of being near it all day
long.

Stay by the Cross, friends. Even if it brings you shame, Jesus bore
more for you. The safest place on earth is by the Cross; it is the
path to heaven. No one goes to heaven to rest without first going
through the Cross. The nearer you are to the Cross of Jesus the
closer you are to His glorious throne. The truth is, Christmas is not
complete without the Cross. Christmas became revealed to the
world at the Cross. In Bethlehem, where Jesus was given birth to,
only few people witnessed the love God gave, but at the Cross,
the world witnessed this love in all its form and with all its
passion.

Mary the mother of John Mark

No direct relationship of this woman with Jesus was mentioned in

the Bible. She must have been another hidden disciple. Two things
made her significant when it comes to the issue of love for Jesus.
The first is that she was the mother of John Mark.

John Mark has been widely accepted as the author of the second
Gospel account on Jesus. He must also have been the young man
who fled when Jesus was being arrested by the Romans in the
garden. This probability is because it was only in his Gospel
account that this incident was mentioned. For raising such a
young man who later on became so devoted to the work of the
Gospel, and became Paul and Barnabas’s assistant in their first
missionary enterprise, this merits Christmas recognition.

If John Mark was the man who fled when Jesus was arrested, it is
probable that he lived near the garden or that he always followed
Jesus that way without being recognized. Mary his mother must
have been a follower in a way to allow this. Perhaps, Mark ran
home to inform her mother what has happened and this made her
run after Jesus like the other Mary did.

In Acts 12:12, Mary’s second act of love was referenced. She kept
in her house the disciples when the persecution of the Church
began. This woman who must have been doing something like
this before this given time was putting her life at risk by becoming
the host of people who were then tagged rebels by the
Government. She made her house the refuge of the disciples; her
house became their praying tower. It was in her house that the
Church prayed earnestly for the release of Apostle Peter from the
plot of death over his life.

The incident that was mentioned in Acts 12 happened during the

feast of the leaven bread, meaning she must have been the one
to see to the need of the disciples who were in her house since
they were still Jews and were still practicing those feasts. Though
it was not recorded that this woman opened her door unto Jesus
like Martha did, she opened it for His disciples who were in great
need for a shelter and a hiding place. Just as Jesus taught, this
worth of love she showed to these ones she showed Jesus as well
(Matthew 25:34-40). If she was not able to open her doors while
Jesus was alive, she did not allow that opportunity not granted her
to become a case of hindrance for what she could do now. This
unknown woman during the days of Jesus on earth made her
home a Church for the disciples, a refuge place and resource
centre after the Master left. This act is worth the Christmas
recognition. She is another Mary, like the Mary the mother of
Jesus.
Mary of Rome

This particular Mary must have meant a lot in the Church of Rome
for her name to be mentioned by Apostle Paul. Her name was
mentioned in the honorary role call that was a culture of Paul in
his General Epistles. The name mentioned in Romans 16, were
purposeful instead of accidental. Those who had their names
there lived lives worthy of such commendation. After Sister
Phoebe who was of great help to many people and to the Apostle
and Priscilla and Aquila follow workers in Christ with Paul, who
risked their lives both for Paul and the Churches of the Gentiles,
Epenetus who was the first convert in Asia, came Mary, who
worked very hard in the church at Rome.

If the phrase ‘worked hard’ is just taken literarily it would not

mean so big a thing. But if it is seen from its original meaning we
will understand what this woman did to have booked a place in
this register. The word ‘worked’ as used in Romans 16:6 means ‘to
grow weary, tired or exhausted with toil or burdens of grief. It also
means to grow with wearisome effort out of bodily or physical
labor.

Looking at this from the point of view of the duty a woman is

allowed to carry out in a church setting, one or more out of these
must have been what the woman was engaged in that lead to
such wearisomeness.

 She was an intercessor in the Church sold out completely

to prayers labors for Paul and the Church at Rome.
 She was given to managing the welfare of the Church as a
deaconess. This includes visiting the members to
encourage them and discipling them. It also includes
taking care of the place of their worship, which might
involve physical labor.
 She was given to Evangelizing the Gospel in Rome and
souls were won into the Church
  She was like those women mentioned in Luke 8:1-3,
noted for her financial contributions to ministry of Paul in
Rome and beyond.

In any of these and more, what must have given this woman such
a recommendation was her service of love. Whatever she did is
not out of law but out of love. She must have passed the test of
serving in love and in truth as well as serving faithfully before
name could be penned down in this eternal document. She
worked hard, tiresomely and she continued to do so. She was a
laborer not just a church worker. She did more than just being a
church.

It is good that you have your name registered among the workers
of your local church. You might even be the head of one
department or two; you might even be the head of the church or
her General Overseer. All of this will not count if you name is not
first registered in the book of life. Even if you have it registered in
the books of works up there, you will only be rewarded for all you
have done here if you get there and you can only get there if your
name is in the Book of Life. If your name is not in the Book of Life,
your works cannot count because it means that when tried and
made to pass through the fire they will fail the test of truth of
righteousness, of faithfulness and of love. These four virtues are
only in the lives of those whose names are in the Book of Life,
people who have had a personal encounter with Jesus.

You might think you are working for Jesus yet you do not know
Him. You might even think you know Him, whereas He does not
know you. Paul knew Mary of Rome and her hard work, does
Christ know you and your tremendous works recognized and
applauded by men? You need to consider this matter before it is
too late.
"Make every effort to enter through the narrow door,
because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not
be able to.

Once the owner of the house gets up and closes

the door, you will stand outside knocking and
pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' "But he will
answer, 'I don't know you or where you come
from.' "Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with
you, and you taught in our streets.' "But he will
reply, 'I don't know you or where you come from.
Away from me, all you evildoers!' "There will be
weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you
see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets
in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown
out. People will come from east and west and
north and south, and will take their places at the
feast in the kingdom of God. Indeed there are
those who are last who will be first, and first who
will be last."

Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. "Not

everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter
the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the
will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say
to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in your name, and in your name drive
out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I
will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from
me, you evildoers!'

"Therefore everyone who hears these words

of mine and puts them into practice is like a
wise man who built his house on the rock.

Luke 13:24-30, Matthew 7:20-24

 Chapter FOUR

THE LOVE OF MARY THE MOTHER OF JESUS

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to

Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to
be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant
of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel
went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are
highly favored! The Lord is with you." Mary was
greatly troubled at his words and wondered what
kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said
to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found
favor with God. You will be with child and give
birth to a son, and you are to give him the name
Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of
the Most High. The Lord God will give him the
throne of his father David, and he will reign over
the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never
end." "How will this be," Mary asked the angel,
"since I am a virgin?" The angel answered, "The
Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of
the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy
one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even
Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in
her old age, and she who was said to be barren is
in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with
God." "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered.
 "May it be to me as you have said." Then the
angel left her.

Luke 1:26-38

Mary the Virgin

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign:

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a
son, and will call him Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:14

The character Mary the mother of Jesus has long had a universal
significance especially in the Catholic Church. She is esteemed
even in her state of death not just, because she is the mother of
Jesus, but because she is Virgin Mary the mother of Jesus. In
terms of reference, she is next to Jesus among in the Catholic
Church. She is more like the link to Jesus. It is believed that
anyone who wants to get Jesus’ attention must go through Mary
His mother.

The Mother of Jesus or the Mother of God has she has been
referenced as early as the 2nd Century by the Church, is a wealth
that no mortal has been blessed with. Being a feminine character,
she contributed to the restoration of the women folk to their
position as designed by God instead, of being relegated as the
slave of the male folks as they were held before the time of Jesus
especially among the Jews.

Above all, she represents what she is now immortalized for, her
virginity. It should not be taken lightly or seen as a matter of
chance or coincidence that a young lady, while she was yet a
virgin conceived a baby who was later delivered to become the
Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.

From a literal viewpoint, though this virtue is highly priced today

in our world especially among the well cultured, only those who
lived in her times knows truly what it means to be a Virgin. For the
Jews one of the most honored virtue expected of the female
before marriage is virginity. The truth is that you cannot be given
out in marriage if you are not given out as a virgin. Take away her
virginity the woman is almost reduced to nothing.

If a man takes a wife and, after lying with her,

dislikes her and slanders her and gives her a bad
name, saying, "I married this woman, but when I
approached her, I did not find proof of her
virginity," then the girl's father and mother shall
bring proof that she was a virgin to the town
elders at the gate. The girl's father will say to the
elders, "I gave my daughter in marriage to this
man, but he dislikes her. Now he has slandered
her and said, 'I did not find your daughter to be a
virgin.' But here is the proof of my daughter's
virginity." Then her parents shall display the cloth
before the elders of the town, and the elders shall
take the man and punish him. They shall fine him
a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the
girl's father, because this man has given an
Israelite virgin a bad name. She shall continue to
be his wife; he must not divorce her as long as he
lives. If, however, the charge is true and no proof
of the girl's virginity can be found, she shall be
brought to the door of her father's house and
there the men of her town shall stone her to
death. She has done a disgraceful thing in Israel
by being promiscuous while still in her father's
house. You must purge the evil from among you.

Deuteronomy 22:13-21

That a lady is a virgin a great blessing for many people not just
herself alone.
The implication of being a virgin on the Parents

Having a daughter, who is a virgin, is a thing of honor for the

parents among their brethrens. The society regards them for a job
well done. They have preserved their daughter, nurtured and
trained her in the most responsible way against all odds. No
matter the worth of her moral values, if this virtue is not there, it
is as if they have done nothing. It is good to train her to become
the virtuous woman described in Proverbs 31:10-31), but if she is
found wanting in this particular aspect, it becomes a shame for
them. The truth is that no one is truly a virtues woman who was
not a virgin as a young woman before he got married.

Therefore, parents should take it as their responsibility to help

their daughters to keep their virginity by pricing it dearly. You do
not need to follow them around or imbibe this into their system by
force. If you truly train them with love and give them consistent
and continuous counsel not borne out of fear, but love, they will
make it their responsibility to keep themselves.

Mothers, that you were not a virgin before you got married, does
not mean you should take this matter lightly. Until it dawns on you
that losing your virginity was not the best of love you should have
shown to yourself and to others you would not labor much so that
your girls would not repeat your error. You cannot change what
you have done but you can prevent her from entering into your
shoes. It is not a bad thing if they are prepared to have a better
marriage than yours.

In our world today this matter has been taken lightly, fathers do
not care anymore, they allow their wards live as they like since it
is not their lives. This is wrong because you will be held
accountable for all they do because God placed them under your
custody, both to keep and to care for them. Until they are handed
over to the care of another, you are accountable for what they do.
Although, the present world system presents virginity (for boys
and girls alike) as a taboo and an uncivilized norm, the truth still
remains, virginity is one the highest virtues that distinguish
youths from youths. What sexual intercourse really makes you is
an adult not a youth. Many have moved to adulthood thinking
they are still (young) youth. Sexual intercourse, consciously or
unconsciously, gives the parties involved a sense of responsibility
over one another. Just getting involved with another person
makes you part of that person’s life forever. No matter how you
try to run away from this fact, it will still get hold of you.

Where are the virgins (boys and girls, youth) whom God
intends to pour out his wealth of love through to reach the
world? Where are the virgins who will esteem the name of
their parents on earth and their father in heaven as Mary
did?

The implication of being a virgin for the Man

The man who becomes the husband of the virgin woman also
shares part of the honor. Culturally, it is a thing of pride for a man
to meet his wife ‘at home’ that is still kept as a virgin. Men who
are given this honor take pride in it. This pride is not false pride
not the one to share amidst friends in the Beer Parlor or to
celebrate hilariously. One humbles the man seeing himself as so
privileged to have such blessing, which is scarce in his world. This
delight makes him believe that he married the right person and
his marriage is not a false. It also makes him believe his woman
has been kept for him and that she belongs to him alone forever.

Yes, there are those who take pride in the numbers of girls they
have disvirgined. They celebrate this and chant it loud so that
others can hear. They even turn it to a competition among
themselves. There are others who use virginity as a means for
money ritual or to gain spiritual powers. This is to show how this
virtue is highly priced in the spiritual realm of evil, while we take it
for granted in the physical world.

Cursed are they who rejoice for partaking in these types

of evil; hell awaits them if they fail to repent.

Many men today wants to get married to a virgin, they want the
untouched, simply because of the pride attached to it.
Nevertheless, ask them ‘are they virgins themselves?’ This same
people have disvirgined many young women after luring them
into their net with several marriage proposals. They want virgins
while they themselves are not and they have contributed into
depopulating the numbers of virgins that are in existence. Tell me,
who will marry those whose life you have spoilt. Who will marry
the ones you are rejecting or have rejected? They hold to the fact
that disvirgined women are not wife-materials, yet they go on to
increase their population. What a great wickedness in the heart of
men.

The implication of being a virgin for the Lady

The one who takes the highest share and worth of honor when it
pertains to virginity is the young woman. She is honored because
keeping herself is a sacrifice she paid dearly for. She enters into
the home of her husband with shoulders raised high, no quilt in
her or secret to keep away from her husband. There is no past
relationship that none cannot hear about. She is so free and
confident that she would be loved back because of the love she
has shown to her husband in keeping herself for him alone all this
while.

There are those who lost their virginity to rape, and all other
forms of sexual abuses. These people did not give it up willfully.
Although, the hurt will continue to linger, but when they turn to
Jesus He removes their hurt and pains away giving them the
assurance of His love for them even in their states. They can also
go into their husbands home with their shoulders held high
because they have lived their lives right. In the sight of their
creator, they are still as He created them, a virgin.

Ladies, do not fall for the deceit that there is nothing to lose if you
give your virginity willfully. If you read the text that was earlier
cited (Deuteronomy 22:13-21) on the punishment that the law
sets up for anyone who sin this way you will see that the wages of
this sin is death by stoning. I tell when your punishment will be
issued to you it is those who supported you at first who will cast
the first stone.

Another evil that has penetrated into this part of the world today
is that many parents want to their sons to bring home a lady, who
is pregnant; until they see that she is pregnant they cannot
accept her as their sons’ wife. They want to know if she has a
fertile womb before she can come into their lives. Bring her home
pregnant them your wedding date will be announced. Some also
tell their daughter that her marriage will be done after her first
child is delivered so that her husband would not take her for
granted. These cultural systems look good but they give hold
more evil than the good. The devil wants to make sure the
marriage bed is defiled before the marriage is formalized. He
wants people to involve themselves in gross fornication so he can
have something to charge against them when they start building
their home. If you want a living marriage, do not lay it on a sinful
foundation. If the family requires from you what God is not
expecting of you, run away from them. No man who loves God will
allow himself to be controlled by family traditions and rituals.

Fornication does not promote true love in any way, it only

corrupts it. 2Samuel 13 is a clear indication of this. At one point
Amnon said, “He was in love with his sister.” This was actually not
a problem in their times. However, after he had his way with her,
he fell out of love. He hated her so intensely that she became dirt
to him. Do not be fooled women. When a man says, ‘You should
prove your love to him by releasing yourself to sex or become
their sex object,” his interest is carnal not spiritual. No man truly
loves a lady, who would want to have her defiled before her
marriage.

Ladies, keep yourself. This is the greatest good you can ever do to
yourself. You add more to who you are in terms of value and worth
when you do this. You gain security for yourself, earn the trust of
your husband forever on sexual matters if you do this. Yes, the
world is full of great challenges but you will do well if you
prioritize this virtue.

Many marriages are destroyed even before it get started because

those who have enjoyed sex before marriage with another man or
with the one they eventually get married to find it hard to enjoy
sex in marriage. They fall easy victim of adultery and other sexual
vices while in marriage. So while not start saving your marriage
even before you get married.

Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders

labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the
city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.

Psalm 127:1

You cannot keep yourself safe by your strength alone. You need
God to help you through this process. Only those, whom God
keeps, are safe. When you learn to release your life and future in
the hands of God, when you give yourself to Him completely, He
will keep you unharmed and will present you undefiled when the
time comes, to your man. Why not give your life fully to Him now.

Back to Mary

Mary gave her love to all the people in her life, her Parent, her
betrothed husband, her people and herself, by keeping herself a
virgin. To everyone around her, this was quite much, but she went
further to give more. The best way to describe the worth of love
she was ready to give is ‘the love that risks all’.
 "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it
be to me as you have said." Then the angel left
her.

Luke 1:38

Her love was a matter of devotion first to God before any other
thing can be considered. She accepted the Lordship of God by
identifying herself as His servant and showed her love by
responding to His will. Mary’s response considered only one
person in this matter, God and she was ready to risk every other
thing though she did not say it out loud for the world to hear.

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his

father and mother, his wife and children, his
brothers and sisters-- yes, even his own life-- he
cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not
carry his cross and follow me cannot be my
disciple.

Luke 14:26-27

Even before these words were uttered, Mary had fulfilled its
terms. She was ready to give everything just for the will of God to
be done. We need to consider some of the things, this young
woman had to risk due to her commitment to God. The love of
Christmas is a love that risks all.

The Honor of Her Parent

When she said, “Let your will be done O Lord,” it meant, soon she
would become pregnant and the story about being a Virgin would
be over (at least from the human point of view). She would be
with a Child whose father she cannot present to anyone in this
physical world. If she were promiscuous, at least there would be
the evidence that there was a man amongst many who
impregnated her. The truth is that in all this matter, Mary was not
ready to implicate Joseph just to save herself. Mary was ready to
go all out to bear the responsibility of this Will that she has
responded in faith to.

Her Parent will go through almost the same ridicule as she would,
if not more. They will be called all sorts of names and their pride
and honor completely given away. These two beautiful Jews will
not be able to stand tall in their community again. Since they
have no way of explaining the case clearly, they would be called a
fool amidst their brethrens. Several suggestions would be given
as to what they should do with Mary, their beautiful daughter;
they might even be advised to disown her because of the shame
she brought to them.

“Mary why don’t you consider all of these possibilities,” the devil
might have said during that crucial period of her decision-making.
With her decision, Mary will lose the trust of her loving Parent.
They might be forced to love her less. No matter how she tries to
explain the case to them, with all their Jewish background and
love for Yahweh, they will still find it hard to believe her ridiculous
tale. They might not disown her but she is no longer a part of
them again because she would be carrying in her wound, for nine
months, in her father’s house, a bastard.

With all of these possibilities, Mary still said, ‘Thy will be done.’
She was ready to give her love to God at the expense of having
her parent to hate her. She was ready to leave her parent to
follow God. She was not doing this because she had a lust for a
boyfriend one she intends to run away with because her parent
rejected him. She was not going to do this because she hated her
parent, but because she loved God and that was all that counts.
During this period, the parent must have been planning and
preparing for her marriage to the beloved Joseph, but Mary was
not considering that at all. They must have been announcing the
ceremony in the community and Mary was not ready to consider
this above her present decision. What a disgrace! Mary, what
were you thinking when you said, ‘Thy will be done.’ I am so sure
she was not thinking about anything else, she did not allow
anything else to run into her thought. She knows that whatever
God has for her at whatever period in her life is the best and
perfect.

Such a devotion to You alone. Such a heart, free from

the earthly. Such a mind set to Yes, your will, all the
times. Whenever You call, ‘Here I am,’ to say. Such a
life, that does not worry for the ‘What if(s)’. Such an
answer as Mary, Be it unto me, according to Your Word.

Mary was already sold out; ready to lose all she has built up for
many years for the one that will last into eternity. She was ready
to answer the voice of God silencing all other voices beckoning on
her to consider her parents and their joy. She was ready to face
the outcome of her decision no matter what, be it a great
persecution; she was ready to go all the way with her God.

Such love for You alone, Lord I pray

Mary was looking for far greater honor for her parent than just
being the In-laws of Joseph’s family, or giving their daughter’s
hand in marriage to the best of men on earth. She bought for
them by the reason of her sacrifice the honor of being the direct
physical and biological grandparents of Jesus, the Son of God;
they were going to be more like the In-laws of God. They have
higher honor than the parent those of Joseph because they were
Jesus’ grandparent legally. Mary’s parent by her decision will
become the grandparent of Jesus. What a honor!

No one talks about them on earth, nothing has been written

directly concerning them, but the truth is that it is such a honor
writing about them. What a honor, this young lady gave them.
This honor is far greater than the one they would have gained if
Mary just got married to Joseph in whatsoever fashion, denying
her womb from housing the Son of God for just nine months.
There is much in stock for us than we can ever think of if we can
just love God the way Mary did. This blessing will not just be for
us alone, it will rob over those who are around us. You might be
finding it so tough giving your life to Jesus Christ because you are
considering what the people around you, those you think you are
accountable to and responsible for, might say. The truth is that
when you give your life to Christ you become a blessing to
everyone around you. Being saved from sin as an individual is the
beginning of the salvation that will rob off many others. When you
come into the light, you draw many into the light without knowing
or planning for it.

When Abraham left his father’s house, it was a ridiculous thing,

but now it is not. When Abraham became blessed, Terah’s name
and lineage became one that was grafted into the Scriptures
among several others. This is a greater honor. God might have
chosen for the record of the lineage described as Abrahamaic line
to have Abraham’s name alone, but He chose to honor Abraham’s
family because of his obedience. It is from this obedience we are
still enjoying today. With Abraham, God cut the Covenant that the
Seed that will bless the whole world will come out of him. This
covenant came out of Abraham’s obedience and it produced Jesus
our blessed savior. When you truly obey God, you become a
blessing to many generations of men if not the whole world
(mankind).

The Love of Joseph

She was ready to risk Joseph’s love for her. By that answer, she
literarily gave up the future she was supposed to have with
Joseph. God did not make any contract with her that if she obeyed
Him, He will make it possible for her to still have her place in
Joseph’s heart and life. She was not aware of God’s plan for the
future of Joseph and herself, but still knowing the consequence of
her decision, she was ready to go God’s way no matter what. If
she had a foreknowledge of God’s plan of making Joseph return to
her no matter what becomes of her one can conclude that her
obedience was conditional. It could have been said of her, “Mary
did not love God out of no reason, she loved God because she was
assured of the fact that Joseph would not reject her and the laws
of the land would be aborted because of her” (cf. Job 1:9-11).

Like Job, Mary feared God not because of any earthly gain, it was
not because of indecision or loss of the power of self-will, but
because God is God and only Him should be the object of human
fear and reverence.

It is so sure Joseph will find it hard to trust Mary again because

what has happened to her is not what man can rationally
conceive as possible. As a noble man, he would not want to have
anything to do with her again. As at the time the pregnancy
became obvious, he was already planning a secret divorce with
her. Thank God that Joseph was a honorable man, perhaps, he
would have cut her head off with a dagger.

Mary knew how deeply in-love Joseph was with her, how highly
valued she was in his sight. She knew she was the most important
part of his life, and without her Joseph is incomplete as a man.
She was Joseph object of love, Joseph’s life and the reason for his
existence as at that time. Taking herself out of Joseph’s life is
demoralizing and it could bring a lasting hurt into his heart if not
kill him. She knew all of this, yet she was ready to go all out for
God’s will. This young lady became someone of importance in the
community because she had been chosen for marriage among
several others. Joseph’s choice of her made her honored by all.
Taking this man away from her meant she will become a nobody,
and she will will receive double fold of dishonor for all the honor
she has received. Even with all of this Mary was ready to choose
God.

Mary was ready to face Joseph’s hatred, dislikes and rejections of

her. She was ready to bear the hurt of losing the Man she loved so
much. She was ready to bear the weight of this burden every
single day she comes across Joseph. She was ready to walk about
the city with this loss as long as they would allow her to stay
among them. O! What a love, what a life of devotion, what a
sacrifice unto God.

How far do you want to go with God? The ‘how far’ is always
determined by what you are ready to give up (and off) for Him.
What you cherish and love most, that thing which has become
your life and object of living apart from God, if God asks for it
directly or indirectly, will you freely give it to and for Him and for
His sake?

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss

for the sake of Christ…

Philippians 3:7-9

By coming to meet Mary, God was asking for much more than
Mary can ever think of. Even with this, she was ready to go all the
way with God. For her obedience does not necessarily have to
come out of a full understanding of what is to come but what is
requested and who is making the request.

In The Choice, the author related her story on the choice she had
to make between the love she had for a man and her love for
Jesus. In a strange land, she fell in love with a stranger. For her to
become the wife of this individual she had to conform herself to
his religious beliefs. There love was strongly persecuted by the
people of her lover not just because the man fell in love with a
stranger but also he was giving himself to the faith of the young
lady. His family would not have him become a Christian no matter
what; instead, they would prefer that the lady becomes one with
them.

After lots of struggles, the lady started trying to appreciate the

religion of this people, she tried finding the grounds of similarities
between hers and theirs. To save her relationship she went to gain
academic knowledge about this religion and was ready to get
herself cultured to its way of life. She made great progress and it
led to a marriage proposal. Soon the marriage date was set. They
invited friends and families across board. This was possible
because she has become accepted by many of his folks from the
other religion and her Christian family has also accepted her
fiancé.

On the eve of their marriage ceremony, she was to become

baptized without any complication into the religion of her fiancé
having passed all the required test. To become a Jew she has to
go through some certain rites of acceptance and the most
important of it is for her to give a statement on her conviction
concerning the person of Jesus. She was asked, ‘Is Jesus the Son
of God?’ If she would become baptized into Judaism, she must
relinquish her belief in Jesus as the Son of God. Until she can see
Jesus from the point of view of a Jew, just a prophet and not the
Messiah, she cannot progress into being married. She had to
make this decision and what she decides will determine what will
happen to her love life.

Remembering the challenges that her love life had gone through,
remembering all the sacrifice she had made to get this far and
the love her fiancé has for her she became so confused. She also
remembered what her family had gone through because of this
marriage, their present expectation and preparation for the
marriage ceremony slated for the next day. She was at a cross
road that the fate of many at that time was in her hands.

While reviewing the past, she also remembered what Jesus had to
go through, what he went through so that she could be saved.
She remembered how Jesus had to suffer shame and ridicule so
that the salvation of the world can be bought. Will she have the
nerves to betray her master just because she wants to get
married to a Jew, to a man who had won her heart?
After strong deliberation, all alone without anybody’s help, while
many people where waiting for her to determine their fate and
consider the marriage ceremony, she chose Jesus. I would rather
lose everything on earth even my life than to betray the one who
had showed me love by giving himself for me. If my Jewish friend
truly loves, he also will choose to follow Jesus fully without any
fear.

Mary was ready to do much more. The woman in the story related
above had less to worry about; she would only suffer emotional
love, while in Mary’s case her life was on the line. Mary’s case was
not a case for religion it was that of life and death and all through
she was alone, ready to give off her love, Joseph, off and her life
as a ransom with the believe that somehow God will keep her
from death so that she could give birth to His son.

What great love we show our Lord when we think more of Him
and less of what is and what is not. What great love we show Him
when we choose not to displease Him to please others. What are
you going to choose in the decision you are contemplating where
you are now; to please Jesus or to displease Him, to mind what He
is going to say or what others will say? Friends, It pays to go all
the way with and for Jesus.

The Implication of Her Decision on Her life

Although, one thing or another has been said concerning this

earlier, we need to press in to consider it further.

If a man takes a wife and, after lying with her,

dislikes her and slanders her and gives her a bad
name, saying, "I married this woman, but when I
approached her, I did not find proof of her
virginity," then the girl's father and mother shall
bring proof that she was a virgin to the town
elders at the gate. The girl's father will say to the
elders, "I gave my daughter in marriage to this
 man, but he dislikes her. Now he has slandered
her and said, 'I did not find your daughter to be a
virgin.' But here is the proof of my daughter's
virginity." Then her parents shall display the cloth
before the elders of the town, and the elders shall
take the man and punish him. They shall fine him
a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the
girl's father, because this man has given an
Israelite virgin a bad name. She shall continue to
be his wife; he must not divorce her as long as he
lives. If, however, the charge is true and no proof
of the girl's virginity can be found, she shall be
brought to the door of her father's house and
there the men of her town shall stone her to
death. She has done a disgraceful thing in Israel
by being promiscuous while still in her father's
house. You must purge the evil from among you.

Deuteronomy 22:13-21

First, the girl cannot stand up for herself if a charge of promiscuity

has been laid on her. She needed her parent to stand up for her;
they are the ones who will bring the evidence of her virginity to
the gate of the elders to save her from destruction. In Mary’s
case, there was no way to proof herself if she was still a virgin or
not. If her parents must take any proof to the gate, it would just
be their words concerning their daughter’s innocence, and what
she said the Angel told her, that is if they believe it themselves.
Would Mary’s parent want to go to face the shame of proofing
what they were not sure of? Is Mary so sure that her parent would
go to the gate to defend her?

Another side of proofing her as a virgin would be the contribution

of Joseph. Yes, Joseph must come out publicly to defend first,
himself that he did not act unlawfully with Mary, meaning Mary
had to present the man who impregnated her and there was
none. To proof her virginity someone has to go in with her, Joseph
being the closest. It is so sure that Joseph would not want to go
through that because it has already been said that he was
preparing to divorce her. No matter what, Mary also would not
want to go through such process because of the baby. Therefore,
the closest option is to surrender to the arm of the Law. Except for
God’s mercy, Mary at this point in time was close to death.

Mary would be brought to the door of her father’s house and

stoned to death. This is the height of shame she had to bear. She
would be bringing shame to her father’s house and household.
Anytime that the door is opened, the event of her death would
reflect back and forth. No matter how they try to clean the stain
of the blood off the door, it will always be there forever. She would
be giving her home a negative and an undue attention. No one
will find it so easy to come and ask for the hand of their maiden in
marriage again. None would want to have any business to do with
the house again because all it holds and represent is the curse of
God. Mary was ready to face all of this for the greater course. This
was the cross that came before the Cross of Jesus, the cross
through which Christmas was delivered.

The men of the city would be harmed to have her stoned to

death. Those who have wooed her before and she rejected their
advances would now have their chance to disgrace her. What if
Joseph would have to partake in the process, since such a thing as
this (purging the evil out of the land) in the then world is a
communal responsibility. Joseph stoning her would be the highest
of all pain she had to bear. She would have to face death with the
pain of having been stoned to death by her most beloved.

The man who loves his life will lose it, while the
man who hates his life in this world will keep it for
eternal life.

John 12:25
She was ready both to lose her earthly love and life. With or
without the knowledge of gaining it back, she was ready to give
them off. What a risk, one that she was ready to go through
triumphantly!

The love that will live must die first

This is what Mary’s worth of love and devotion teaches. When she
said ‘I am the Lord's servant, may it be to me as you have said,’
she was responding to death, she was already seeing herself in
the front of the door of her father’s household, being stoned to
death. For her, there is more to gain in dying in obedience to God
than in living to disobey Him. Her love depicts the love of
Christmas in such a way that it was focused on fulfilling the
greater gain. Was Mary a hater of men, her family, and her
spouse? No, because in her obedience she showed she loved
them more. Jesus did not hate His earthly mother when He was
going to the Cross, either. Just as Mary was ready to die so that
God’s love might be given birth to without being distracted by the
love she has for her parent and Joseph, so was Jesus ready to go
to the Cross without allowing the grieve of His mother and
disciples to distract Him. It is through dying that He would show
them the best of love. Christmas came to this world through a
woman who was ready to face death and it was eventually issued
to man through a man who faced death eventually. For love to
live it must first die. This is the love of Christmas.

Ready to path away with

When the boy Jesus became twelve, He was left behind at the
Temple by His Parent who later on returned in search of Him. At
this time, they were not ready to path with Him since they were
responsible Parent. When this boy grew and should assume some
sense of responsibility over His family, Mary was ready to give
Him away fully without question. At thirty-three Mary should now
be enjoying the fruit of her labor over Jesus as His mother and for
a time not mentioned in the Bible, she was a single mother taking
care of Jesus and His earthly siblings. She really labored over
Jesus and when it was time to rest from her labor and sit to reap
the good fruit of this good Son, he was taken from her.

As a mother, she had the right to question the death of Jesus, her
firstborn Son, but she did not, instead, she gave Him off freely for
the world. She gave Jesus off partially at thirty when He began His
ministry and she finally did on the Cross.

One of the things that must have caused her great grief must
have been the incidence of the day she came to visit her Son in
one of His ministry sites and she was not allowed to meet with
Him.

Now Jesus' mother and brothers came to see him,

but they were not able to get near him because of
the crowd. Someone told him, "Your mother and
brothers are standing outside, wanting to see
you." He replied, "My mother and brothers are
those who hear God's word and put it into
practice."

Luke 8:19-21

Mary truly gave the best she had, the most important part of her
life for God. She offered Jesus to the world as the Living Sacrifice.
Since He left off for His ministry, Mary knew where it was going to
end, but she was not told when. The when was quite sudden, it
came at a time when she would have more pain to bear and she
did so well. Mary was ready to path away with her begotten Son.
Like her father Abraham, she was ready to place her Son on the
altar to have Him sacrificed so that God can be pleased and man,
blessed.

How far have we gone as a parent to show this worth of love to

God and the world? Do we allow our children to go for what God
has designed their lives for? Do we not choose their career for
them to suite our lust? Is it not because of your pride that you
want your child to become a Doctor, Lawyer and the likes? He
said He wants to be a Writer or an Artist but you would not have
that because there is no honor in that for you. You prefer to see
the kid suffer doing what he does not like while you enjoy being
called the mother of Doctor this and that.

When you train a child to become what you planned for him you
have shown how much you hate God and the world he was
originally designed to bless. You show how selfish you are, when it
must be what people study in your family line that must be his
singular point of interest. Releasing our kids for the world’s good
is in asking the same question that Manoah and his wife asked the
Angel when they were told they would give birth to Samson..

So Manoah asked him, "When your words are

fulfilled, what is to be the rule for the boy's life
and work?"

Judges 13:12

Knowing the rule for the life and work of our wards as guardians is
paramount in nurturing them. When we get this from God who
created them and we do our best to see to it that we carry it out
to detail, we have shown a great deal of love to God and mankind.
God designed everyone on earth for a purpose, to be a blessing to
humanity and parents have a role to play in seeing this interest
fulfilled. We fail in this role when we turn a non-challant attitude
to it, believing we can enforce our own will on them.

Mary would have decided to turn towards this path, but she did
not. Right from the first day the promise of this Son was given to
the time she gave Him off completely, one thing was common
with her. The Bible records that whatever she hears concerning
the destiny of this child she treasures it in her heart (Luke 2:19,
51). This act contributed to the growth of Jesus. Mary allowed Him
become what God designed and destined Him for. She did not
leave Him alone; instead, she followed Him all through not
minding the pain she had to bear until she saw Him being taken
away from her completely on the Cross. For Mary, this is
fulfillment. She proved that she was a good guardian, even when
she had to do this all alone without the support of Joseph her
beloved husband; she went through it all in the strength that she
received at the beginning of this journey. This is love, love that is
ready to path away with; release completely what is cherished the
most for the good of all.

Mary’s strength grew through Love

There is an assurance in true love, especially one that streams

out of the fear of God. There is no fear in love but the fear of God
gives love and the strength to love in abundance. Mary was so
sure that if God’s Will must be done, the Son of God, her son must
be done away with. Thus, she cannot die until this is done. She
was just an agent, an instrument that God intended to use.
Therefore, in God’s hand she is safe. She is the one through whom
an age long prophecy of the Messiah to come would be fulfilled.
For her it is more of a blessing than a risk. She was highly favored
by God, because with or without her, God’s will, will surely come
to past.

There is strength in obedience borne out of reference for God.

Whenever you find yourself in the position of being of help to
someone else, see yourself as an agent and an instrument in the
hand of God. You are not the one who wants to give that love; you
do not have any love to give except the one God gives through
you. When you release yourself into His hands this way you will
be shocked at what God can do through you.

Love grows through the fear of God and the fear of man or things
kills it. Those who must love as Mary did must first fear as she
did. She did not fear what man can do to her, instead, she feared
God for what He has said to her. The fear of God produces true
love for God.

Chapter FIVE

THE FULFILLED CHRISTMAS

Mary’s response to God’s love and God’s will made Christmas

fulfilled. Hers was a love towards God for the gain of all humanity
not just a single individual, but the entire human race. As at that
time, she might not know the magnitude of what she did or why
she had to do what she did and those things she was risking, but
what was most important to her then was honoring God’s words
above all else.

God’s will and our love

God’s will is His love and our love is shown as we respond to His
will. He has shown us and He still showing us that He loves us by
the dealings of His will. When His will was first made manifest in
the beginning of all things it was because He loved us. The
biblical truth is that He had even loved us before this world
began.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus

Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms
with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose
us in him before the creation of the world to be
holy and blameless in his sight. In love he
predestined us to be adopted as his sons through
Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and
will-- to the praise of his glorious grace, which he
has freely given us in the One he loves.
 Ephesians 1:3-6

It was because of His love that He made man in His image and
likeness. He gave man this height of privilege above all, His
presence. Our first act of ingratitude came through the rebellion
of Adam and Eve and it went on and on. Sin and the devil became
the rule over man as against God’s design. However, God did not
let the devil continue in his triumph. He enacted the continuity of
His will for mankind.

And I will put enmity between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and hers; he will crush
your head, and you will strike his heel."

Genesis 3:15

God said, ‘I will’. This is His will made manifest. No matter how
man continues to rebel, His will, must be done. Nothing can stop
Him from what He wills. His will is a programme that no man or
powers on earth and underneath the earth can stop. Though man
failed to conform himself to this programme, God still carried it
out as we see today. His ‘I will’ has been fulfilled in Christmas. The
big question now is “who will allow His ‘I will’ of love to be done in
his or her life?”

"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I

am a virgin?" The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit
will come upon you, and the power of the Most
High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be
born will be called the Son of God.

Luke 1:34-35

When God presents His will to us as man, we asked Him back

‘How will this be? How will it happen?’ Our work in God’s will is
not to know how His will, will be done but to allow this will to be
done. We delay His will from being done or made manifest in our
lives if we continue to ask, how and how, He is going to go about
His business. Whenever He presents His will, there is a decision to
be made, either to respond to it in love or to disregard it out of
ignorance, doubt or the evil of sin.

When Mary asked this same question, God’s will was made
manifest to her instantly and immediately. With less or no further
consideration, she surrendered her life and love to God’s will.

God’s will is the future of things revealed in the present as a

possibility and an opportunity. For the darkened in heart, it is, an
impossibility and a falsehood. But, for the enlightened, it is a case
of several possibilities disguised in just a single opportunity.

As an individual, you can allow this Will of Love to be done again

in your life as it was in Mary’s life today and it can become a
continuous experience for you. If you allow it to be done today
and now, you will receive grace from God to be able to do this will
as a daily Christmas. Each time Jesus is given birth to in the heart
of an individual through the works of the saving grace of the
Cross, there is a Christmas on earth and in heaven.

Christmas is not just limited to the day we celebrate the birth of

Jesus into the world, it is also all the days that Jesus is given birth
to again in the hearts of men. Christmas comes when one sinner
repents so that ninety-nine righteous others can rejoice as God in
the heaven does (Luke 15:4-10). It is the time when lost souls are
found back by the gracious works of Jesus Christ (Luke 19:10).
Christmas comes when Jesus Christ is BORN AGAIN in the hearts
of men. No one is truly Born Again whom Christ has not been Born
Again in him. You are only Born Again when the one who was Born
through the womb of Mary the Virgin, physically, is Born Again in
your sinful heart spiritually (by His Spirit) to destroy the power of
sin in your life having complete this task already on the Cross.

When Jesus was to be given birth to on earth it was through the

works of the Holy Spirit. The same must happen to anyone who
will have Christ born again in him. Christmas begins with the work
of the Holy Spirit.

"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I

am a virgin?" The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit
will come upon you, and the power of the Most
High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be
born will be called the Son of God.

Luke 1:34-35

The Holy Spirit will come upon you

His coming is to convict us of sin and show us the righteousness

of God. We see our sinful depraved state and instantly the
glorious state of God’s righteousness. At this point, we are left to
make a choice either to fall in repentance of our sins or to remain
adamant in it.

But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am

going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will
not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt
in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:
in regard to sin, because men do not believe in
me; in regard to righteousness, because I am
going to the Father, where you can see me no
longer; and in regard to judgment, because the
prince of this world now stands condemned.

John 16:7-11

When we choose the former, we evidence it not by just being

remorseful but also by choosing to turn away from our sins and
turn to God for His salvation.

This is the foremost work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus came to this
world by the way of the Holy Spirit; it is by the same that He
comes into our heart. When we hear the phrase, Born Again we
take it lightly because we do not know what it really means. This
is the reason many people in the church today see themselves as
Born Again. When we truly get Born Again what happens is that
Jesus Christ is Born Again in us, His life and light are made
manifest in our heart. We are not the one who gets Born Again in
the real sense it is Christ who is Born Again in us. The former was
on the Cross for the whole world while the latter is personal, in
the heart of an individual. It is because we only think it is the man
who just gets Born Again that we truly do not have a full Born
Again experience. Before anyone can truly be born again, Christ
must have been born again in him. Only those who have Christ
born again in them eventually grow in the Spirit to become like
Him.

Allow Jesus Christ to be born again through the Holy Spirit

in your heart today. This is your true response of love to
God’s will and love

The Power of God will overshadow you

After the Holy Spirit has come upon you and sin has been dealt
with, God’s power (the Holy Spirit still) then overshadows you. No
one can live a righteousness life except by the power of God.
Salvation is not just to take sin away from you; it is also to bring
God’s righteousness to you. You are not just saved to have sin
dead in you; you are saved to live in God’s righteousness. You
cannot say you are free from sin if you are not living as the
righteousness of God on earth.

The power of God overshadows our lives to bring a covering over

our heart as against the influence of sin. While we are still on
earth, sin will always try to force itself into our lives. Only those
who are under God’s covering can become assured of victory over
all temptations to sin. We are not just saved to run off sin, we are
saved to run to God for His righteousness.
The Holy One to be born

The Holy Spirit comes upon the sinning heart, He then comes into
the same heart to give it the power to live in righteousness and
the result is this: the Holy One, Jesus Christ will be born fully in
the same heart. Holiness, this is what the Holy Spirit intends to
produce out of the sinful heart. Do not say that you are born again
if you are not living a holy life. When Christ comes into our hearts,
we are guaranteed God’s Holiness because the Holy One now
lives in our heart.

In our reconciliation to God through His Son, we become like Him,

as Holy as He is. Our heart becomes an Eden where God can live
again as of old. The lost presence is restored and eternity with
Him is reassured.

‘Christians’ in their ranks have been deceived by the devil to go in

search of the power of God for several other reasons apart from
His primary intention for making it available. Many want to
become empowered so they can do what only God can do; the
supernatural, raise the dead, heal the sick, deliver people from
demonic oppression, and the likes. They only want to do and not
be like or become like Him. Becoming like is in living like God in
His Holiness, to become as Holy as God in our lives. This is the
reason He made His power available to us in the first place.
Anyone who can heal the sick and raise the dead but cannot live a
Holy life has only received the power of God in vain.

The power of God works out a continuous sanctification in us.

Through this power, we continue to change until we become like
Jesus. If truly we allow His Holiness to be made manifest in our
lives we would not need to struggle to perform signs and wonders
like sinners do, these things will only come out of us
spontaneously based on needs as the Holy Spirit gives us grace to
do so.
Right after His resurrection, Jesus came to His disciples with these
words;

… "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me,

I am sending you." And with that he breathed on
them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you
forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you
do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."

John 20:21-23

‘Receive the Holy Spirit’ and they received it even if they still do
not understood all of this until the Holy Spirit came upon them
and overshadowed their lives. His words was more like, ‘be born
again’, because receiving the Holy Spirit is all about being
renewed in our spirit man, it is being born again from the inside.

Since there was no direct record of how the Apostles got Born
Again one can assume that it was at this time they had the
experience. It was at this time they received the works of Christ
on the Cross into their lives. They accepted that He is alive so
they were also made alive with Him. Thomas missed this chance,
but Jesus came back to him, if He did not, his case would not have
been that different from that of Judas, because Judas sorrow
became multiplied because he did not believe in the death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ. Although, he (Judas) saw Jesus during
His life, he did not see Him in His death and resurrection. He did
not have the breath of life breathe upon him like the other
Apostles did and the result of this was eternal death. He is not
doomed for eternal death just because he betrayed his Lord but
also because he missed the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Christmas is only fulfilled in our lives when Jesus is born again in

us and formed in us. This will not happen until the Holy Spirit
comes upon us to overshadow our heart. The disciples had to wait
a while before this became their experience.
 On one occasion, while he was eating with them,
he gave them this command: "Do not leave
Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father
promised, which you have heard me speak about.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit
comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to
the ends of the earth."

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all

together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the
blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and
filled the whole house where they were sitting.
They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that
separated and came to rest on each of them. All of
them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to
speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Acts 1:4, 8; 2:1-4

Even after they received the Holy Spirit, they still had to wait to
allow the power to be made manifest in them. Before this time,
they were still timid and filled with fear; they were still carnal, as
some of them could still return to their nets because of the cares
of this world. They still had selfish ambitions, could still run away
from being persecuted, all because Christ has not become fully
formed in them. They were afraid of the Sanhedrin and of death
all because they have not allowed the resurrection power to be
made manifest in them.

They were like formal churchgoers today and church attendees,

full of all forms of religion without the life of Christ resident in
them. They can talk about Jesus but they do not have Jesus in
them. They know about Him but they are not part of His Body.
They are followers with the crowd and not of Christ, having a form
of godliness, but denying the power thereof (2Timothy 3:5).
Until the power of God comes upon a man, the Holy One, Jesus
Christ, cannot be formed in Him. Until this is done, you only have
a form of being born again not the power thereof. Until the power
comes, being born again is just a mere mouth talk.

When the power of God came upon the early disciples, it

transformed them into the full measure of Christ. They lived with
Jesus for three and half years but never had Jesus living in them.
When the power of God came upon them, Jesus Christ, through
His Holy Spirit, made His way into them and started living in
them. They became witness not just of what Jesus came to do in
this world but of what they see Jesus doing in and with them.
Witnessing for them meant revealing to others who Christ as He is
being formed in them. This is the Christmas fulfilled.

Christmas is Evangelistic in nature. It is proclaiming Christ and

witnessing (showing) to others what He has done and He intends
to do in the human heart. It is in showing the love He has
available to pour into the heart of men, which in return translate
to His life becoming resident them. This is the reason why for
Christians Christmas is Everyday and Everyday is Christmas.
There must not be a day when Christ’s will, will not be made
manifest on earth. As Christians, there must not be a day that
Christ will not be made manifest through our words, deeds,
thoughts, disposition, relationships and others.

Christmas comes to you when the power of God is made manifest

in your heart, then Jesus is Born Again in you. However, your
Christmas is not full and fulfilled until Jesus who has been born
again in you is born repeatedly in others. The Apostles had a
fulfilled Christmas the first time they set out to witness to others
about what Christ as done in their lives. Just in a moment, many
had Christ Born Again in them and this became a continuous, an
everyday experience (.
Mary had the conception of the Holy One in her womb just in a
day but the baby in her had to be fully formed within a nine
month period before it could be delivered. In the same way, Christ
will come into your life and this becomes your Christmas but you
must allow Him to be formed in you through a continuous
progressive sanctification, then you have a full Christmas, but not
until you allow what a been done in you to start in another
person you cannot have a fulfilled Christmas. Only a fully felt
Christmas makes the essence of Christmas fulfilled in your life.
Witnessing Christmas to others is not just in words, it goes
beyond this. Christmas is not just talked it is shown; it is not only
shown, it is given. Showing and giving Christmas runs through
what we do and think as well as how and why we do what we do.

Opportunities to give or receive (by responding to) Christmas is

always open to us everyday. When people show you the love you
cannot show them, how do you respond? When you have the
opportunity to show others what they cannot get in their world, do
you delay or deny? Our responses to these questions determine
what we do with Christmas each and every day.

Even Mary needs Christmas

It was from her womb that the Son of God was given birth. Yes,
she produced Christmas, but she also needed Christmas to
happen to her like everyone of us. She also need Christmas in her
heart. Though He came out of her womb, she must also have Him
back in her heart. Her womb being the house of Jesus in His state
of conception was just about service unto God. Though it was one
of the greatest acts of worship to God, yet it cannot save her. Just
as Christmas must come upon everyone’s heart, the power of God
must manifest Himself in her.

Her personal experience of Christmas happened at Pentecost.

Since she was placed in the custody of John the beloved by Jesus,
she must have been among the hundred and twenty at the upper
room. Mary did not just bore Jesus Christ from her womb; she also
did in her heart. If she did not have the second as an experience,
it would have been an incomplete Christmas. If she did not allow
the works of her son into her life because she felt she has done so
great a thing in giving birth to Jesus, she would have lost her life a
great deal.

No worth of service to God in His house and to humanity outside

the church can ever substitute for an experience of the saving
grace of Jesus Christ. Whosoever you are and whatsoever you
think you can do for God and you are already ‘doing for Him’ you
still needs His salvation for your soul. The truth is that, nothing
you do, no matter how loving and great it seems, can substitute
for this. Whatever you do, is done in vain if you do not do it in
Christ. The best you can receive for anything you do without
Christ is an earthly compensation. You cannot serve God in truth if
He has not saved you. You can only give true Christmas if you
already have an experience of the true Christmas.

Chapter SIX

CHRISTMAS GIFT PACK

Santa Claus is the legendary patron of children. He is an

undeniable imaginary of what every child who believes in
Christmas, especially on the morning of Christmas desires to see.
They want to see different gift packs. When the packs are
unwrapped, the kid wants to see what he or she desires to have
for Christmas. The Santa imagery gives this hope to Children that
whatever they desire in their heart will be made possible for them
at Christmas. This is quite close to the blessings the true
Christmas brings only that it gives more than what the human
heart can ever imagine or desire. Just as in the case of Santa only
those who truly believes in Christmas and who are ready to share
with others the joy of Christmas becomes beneficiaries of these
blessings. Christmas comes with bounties that exceed this human
realm.

Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for

those who were in distress. In the past he
humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of
Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of
the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the
Jordan--The people walking in darkness have seen
a great light; on those living in the land of the
shadow of death a light has dawned. You have
enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they
rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest,
as men rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in
the day of Midian's defeat, you have shattered the
yoke that burdens them, the bar across their
shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every
warrior's boot used in battle and every garment
rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be
fuel for the fire. For to us a Child Is Born, to us a
son is given, and the government will be on his
shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince
of Peace. Of the increase of his government and
peace there will be no end. He will reign on
David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing
and upholding it with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever. The zeal of the
LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

Isaiah 9:2-7

This is Christmas, in view long before the coming of Jesus Christ.

Truly, Christmas brings an unmerited, unexpected and
unbelievable honor. God honored Galilee the dwelling place of the
commoners through Christmas. This is what He does every day,
honoring people who have no so great a background, giving them
the blessings of Christmas that the wealth of this world cannot
buy. Christmas has made the poor and unknown men and women
on earth great and renowned. Several individuals, who have been
of tremendous blessings to humanity, where products of
Christmas.

Through the love that was revealed in Christmas, lots of

reformations have been made to the different damages the world
has been faced with due to workings of sin and its act of
wickedness. What we now know as Civilization is a product of
Christmas. When Christmas came, Christianity was produced and
the result was civilization as it is being experienced in the world
today.

Long time ago, Prophet Isaiah gave his prophecy on the coming of
Christmas. In his prophecy, he highlighted what Christmas will
bring to the world of men.

No more Gloom

-Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in

distress

Gloom means a state of partial or total darkness. Those who are

in this state experience distress of different forms. Distress
includes psychological sufferings, a state of adversity, extreme
physical pain and the likes. From the biblical point of view it
means afflictions from the burdens caused by sin, a heavy load
placed upon a slave by his slave master. ‘Come unto me,’ Jesus
says ‘those who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest’
(Matthew 11:28). This is a Christmas call, it is a call to those who
are in distress so they can be set free from the yokes of sin and
be given rest. This gift of rest pronounces them, free from gloom,
from darkness into His light. Christmas offers rest, rest from
undue labor of sin.

Great Light

-The people walking in darkness have seen great light.

Only those who have truly walked in the darkness of sin and now
walks in the experience of God’s great light knows what
Christmas gives. In the state of darkness, there is loss of hope,
terror and horror. Life is meaningless and living is but in vain.
There is no purpose or sense of true existence, no joy, peace, only
sorrow. This state no matter how beautiful it seems from the
outside is all but meaningless. Solomon the great King described
this so well in the account of his hopeless case in darkness. This is
the state of those who have not experienced Christmas.

When the ray of light dawns on someone who is in darkness, life

is given and living becomes purposeful. Transformation happens
to the soul and triumphantly the spirit lives in liberty from the
power of sin and all that it brings.

-Those walking in the land of the shadow of death, a light has

dawned.

One of the most common phenomena in the world is the horror of

death. Each passing day people die in an alarming rate. Even in
the season that we recognize as Christmas the alarm continues.
Disasters of all kinds, terrorism, wars, flood, famine, plagues,
diseases and the likes have really contributed to many people’s
doubt of Christmas. “How can a good and loving God allow all of
this to happen?” they ask. No direct answer can be given to this
question, but those who have truly allowed Christmas to have its
effect on their lives find the answer to their questions in the
blessings it gives.

God designed Christmas to take our minds off all of the earth
presents turmoil to what He has prepared for us here on earth and
in heaven. That there is life (eternal) beyond death is what
Christmas has come to show us. Jesus did die, but He also
resurrected to show us what would happen to those who come
through Him to the Father.

Yes, the noise of death is so rampant and intriguing in our world,

but through Christmas, we can receive light that brings us into
survival through the shadow of death and beyond. The joy that
comes through the new life that Christmas gives fills the heart
instead of the fear of death. The truth is this; those who have not
allowed Christmas in their lives are already walking in the shadow
of eternal death. The death they ought to fear is not that of the
physical but the eternal that they are already condemned to,
except they turn to God and accept His offer of love.

Paul the Apostle knew this experience so well. With great

confidence as he journeyed through Damascus to persecute the
disciple of Jesus, he never knew he was walking through the
shadow of eternal death. The light of God dawned on him and
stopped him from the path of destruction. He became so great
instrument in the hand of God because he allowed Christmas to
happen to him.

And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey,

and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon,
suddenly there shone from heaven a great light
round about me.

Acts 22:6 (KJV)

This test reveals Paul’s personal account of the incident. When

that great light dawned upon him that day, he became a different
person. He was saved from destruction and he went out calling
others to this salvation. He received Christmas and went out
blessing others with the same.

Increased Joy of Harvest

-You have enlarged the Nations and increased their joy; they
rejoice before you as people rejoice at harvest.

It was after the first Christmas that civilization started dawning

upon nations. The world as we have it today, a formalized
continent is as result of the Christian enterprise. Nations were
expanded and newer nations were formed because of the works
of many Christians who have been blessed by Christmas. As the
Christian mission expanded so did the world.

Many inventions that bring joy to us today and ease to our tasks
were good deeds people embarked upon as the result of
Christmas. Men who really brought forth the dividends of
Christmas labored on things that would be of blessings to the
world at large, things that will enlarge nations. They did not just
limit themselves into just giving gifts to others on Christmas day;
they also used their lives up in labors that humanity at large still
reaps the harvest of today.

It is high time the Church took up what her mission on earth is ‘to
enlarge the nations with the blessings of Christmas.’ The same is
for all Christians. Christmas makes you labor for a large mass of
people not just a set. Christmas helps you to live based on a
worldview not limited by racism or prejudice. Christmas is for all
nations, it brings joy to all nations. This is what anyone who has
been blessed by Christmas should do, the same for its custodian,
the Church; bring joy to the nations.

When we sing the song; ‘Joy to the world, the Lord is come!’ We
must really do it with the mindset of bringing the same worth of
joy that the Savior brought, to the world not just in our words but
also in our actions. We can do this as we shift from just giving a
cup of water to the thirsty to feeding a whole nation.

Freedom from Slavery

-The yoke that burden, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of
their oppressor.

Just like God did for the Israelites the day He defeated the
Midianite by the hands of Gideon (Judges 7:22-25), He has
shattered every yoke that once burdened humanity as a whole.
He broke the bars across their shoulders and set them free. Sin,
the slave master of all of humanity, was defeated on the Cross; its
power and will that once dominated over us have been dealt with
a great blow by Christmas.

When you were slaves to sin, you were free from

the control of righteousness. What benefit did you
reap at that time from the things you are now
ashamed of? Those things result in death!But now
that you have been set free from sin and have
become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads
to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the
wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal
life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:20-23

Freedom from sin, its power and wages into a life of liberty and
righteous living- this is what Christmas offers to those who
embrace it.

It was because of the works of Christmas that human slavery and

slave trade was abolished in Africa and many parts of the world. If
not for the workings of Christmas in the heart of men, the
wickedness that resulted into slave trading would have continued
as a standard in this part of the world and others up till date. Men
placed others under their hold because they are under the hold of
sin. Those who are truly free from the bondage of sin cannot in
any way place others into any form of bondage for their personal
gains.
 If you have been set free from the evil of physical slave trade and
you are not yet set free from spiritual slavery to sin, you are in a
greater danger. Christmas was not given just for you to be set
free from the physical; it was given for of your spiritual freedom
from sin. Those who worked for the abolishment of slave trade did
so because they have received the blessedness of Christmas into
their hearts; they have been set free from sin. They labored that
much so that others might share out of the greatest blessing of
all, Jesus Christ.

Eternal Security

-Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in

blood will be destined for burning will be fuel for the fire.

If men would truly allow Christmas into their lives there would be
no need for wasting resources in acquiring military weapons of
wars, missiles and the likes will no longer be needed. If the love of
God is allowed its works in our lives there would be no thoughts
towards terrorism, wars and disasters. It is because true love is a
paper thing and not a heart thing that men would turn against
each other, nations against nations with such a cruel hatred.

What causes fights and quarrels among you?

Don't they come from your desires that battle
within you? You want something but don't get it.
You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you
want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have,
because you do not ask God. When you ask, you
do not receive, because you ask with wrong
motives, that you may spend what you get on
your pleasures…

James 4:1-4

The resources that should be used in meeting the physical and

material needs of the citizens of a nation, needs of food, shelter,
health care and other amenities are being used by weaker nations
to afford a form of security for their own against unforeseen olds.
Insecurity and an attempt to secure our own people have become
the other of the day. We do so much in securing people’s life but
what about securing them for an eternal life. How do we go about
securing people who are in the horror of eternal death thinking we
are doing a good job?

How do we try so much securing against war those who are

already dead stricken by poverty in their minds? The obvious
truth is that such people cares less about the matter of war, they
are ready to die in war not for the honor in it but because they
feel there is nothing to lose. Why not enforce the resources in
saving them from their physical poverty first and by releasing
their minds from the slavery of poverty they can embrace the
love shown them and the greater love that comes with this.

If a nation is truly driven by the power of love, it will not fear the
terror of evil. Israel of old and that of this present age is an
example of such. Her secured state is a result of her love for God
and her trust in the love of God. Although, the nation is facing lots
of challenges today, she still stands. The truth is that no matter
what the Jews are experiencing today especially on the issue of
their inherited lands, cannot be compared to what they have
faced in the past and the end result for them has always been,
Peace and Comfort.

The funny parts of the form of security that lesser nations are
building for themselves today is that they get their gadgets of war
from those they are afraid might wage war on them. Another
painful side to it is that these gadgets are designed by men as
they prepare for their end. Soon the end of the world will be
materialized. By great fire, the earth will be ruined to its ground.
Man as he plans for his security also prepares to aid his
destruction out of great ignorance.
The fuel for the fire that will destroy the earth is already being
made ready as nations store up for himself different weapons of
war. What Nations and their Governments are gathering up today
with the campaign of securing people’s life is set at fast tracking
the sure destruction of those who remains on earth when
Christmas has finished its course. While men ought to run away
from the coming destruction they are planning for it unknowingly
especially because they have been fooled to disbelieve this truth.

There is nothing here on earth that can assure man of true and
eternal security. Are you not preparing for your future in a wrong
direction, pilling up bills of currency in banks, investing in all
manners of things, acquiring assets, all to gain a form of security
for yourself and yours? This method has failed many in the past,
and it will still ruin several others in the future. If the Lord does
not build the house, those who labor, labor in vain (Psalm 127: 1-
2). Unless the Lord watches over you and preserves your life and
all that is yours, your effort is in vain.

The level of security that United State of America enjoys today is

not just a show or display of the efforts of those in the present.
What we see being enjoyed today came as a result of the labors
of the founding fathers. When we mention the labors of the
fathers, it is about the life they lived, a life centered on trusting
God and God alone. The past leaders did more of trusting God
than anything else. Why the American people now have issues
with security and they have to labor so much in human strength
with less result is because the present leaders now trust in
themselves and their policies than they do in God. They even
fight so that people will trust them with less consciousness on the
matters of God.

The National Day of Thanksgiving, an institution in America today

became a federal holiday since 1863, when during the American
Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed and instituted
the day for the Praise to the beneficent God who dwelt in the
Heaven (Wikipedia). The last Thursday of every November was
dedicated to the praise of God. It was also the day, the fathers as
the leaders of America declares their allegiance to God and Him
alone. The American state is secured and safe for many reasons.
As an individual, I believe this show of gratitude, rank foremost of
these reasons. Nevertheless, the experience is not the same
again. The Thanksgiving Day has become a day of eating and
merrying alone just like the Christmas season has also become.
The Thursday comes and goes and on Friday, everybody returns
to his or her normal life without a thought for God.

Like many other nations who have fallen short of this same act of
goodness shown them by God, (I believe, many African nations,
have become a champion in this), Americans need to arise and
return to their fathers’ love for God. Several African nations have
forgotten how God saved them from the torture of colonialism and
slave trade. We all need to return to the trust our founding
fathers’ had in God, the trust that gave birth to our independence.

Trust in God Europeans, Americans, trust in God Africa, and all the
nations of the earth. It is good to try to emulate what others are
doing, but do not make other nations your gods. The World
Powers are not powers in the sense of being the ultimate power.
They are world power but not world’s power. They power in
heaven and on earth belongs to Jesus Christ. Any Nation who
wants to truly become powerful (not power driven) for the good of
other nations cannot but have Jesus as Her Lord and the God of
Heaven as the sovereign rule over her.

True Governance

-For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given and the

government will be on his shoulder.

We often read that a child is born and a Son is given but we don’t
seek to understand why the mention of the Son being given after
the child is born. Why will the scripture maintained that a child
was born and a Son is given. The implication of this is that of
governance. In Christmas all that the world knows was that a child
was born in a manger at Bethlehem, but the holistic nature of
Christmas is in the fact that it was not just a Child that was given,
it was a Son. God so loved the world that He gave His begotten
Son. The giving of the Son implies an heir to His Kingdom, a
prince and successor to the throne, the one who is in charge of
governance of the Kingdom of the earth and heaven on behalf of
His Father. The Jews who were the immediate recipient of this
prophecy knew this so well that the one who is to be given is a
Son, and that He is a Son meant He is the Messiah who will save
them from the bondage of bad governance in the hands of the
Gentiles and will eventually rule over them.

Christmas is the giving of the Son who will save mankind from the
bondage of sin and the devil, the prince of this world system and
rule over them in righteousness. This is one of the greatest
blessings this gift of love has to offer mankind as a whole.

The governance the rule of Jesus Christ represents is one that

Christmas intends to reveal to mankind is so new that the forms
of government that we have today with all their names cannot
measure up to it. We call all we see true governance but no
government system have really proven to be true. Our leaders are
given several honorable and distinctive titles, yet they have not
lived up to it. They come and go do their beats then become
replaced. Problems are created by one and the successor comes
into the scene trying to solve them. At a time a peaceful state
would be experienced and at another chaos. This has been the
trend and routine of governance in the world.

Of the increase of his government and peace

there will be no end. He will reign on David's
throne and over his kingdom, establishing and
upholding it with justice and righteousness from
 that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD
Almighty will accomplish this.

Isaiah 9:7

If governing people at any level can be done in the way of Christ,

the result will be peace without end. In His kingdom there is no
mention of corruption or vices all there is, is only justice and
righteousness. When leaders follow the path of justice and
righteousness, peace and joy will define their governance. When
leaders live true to the honor given them and see their titles as
responsibilities and their offices as an opportunity to serve, they
will lead their nations into peace and rest.

The head of the Kingdom of God is called, Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. He does not
bear these names merely as a title but is responsibilities. Just one
of these attributes of Jesus in the description of the nature of His
government This is what He would do for and be to all those who
are under His jurisdiction. He will give them counsel and be their
counselor; He will be their God and father; He will also be their
peace. His princely duty is to bring them peace.

The same qualities Jesus possesses have been exemplified by

many earthly leaders in the past. They were peacemakers and
counselor, they poured out their lives in labors of love to bring
many nations to what they now enjoy. Though they could not
become another Jesus on the earth, they exemplified His life
through their deeds. When are we going to do the same, replicate
their love and works, in this present age? We chant their praise
but we have refused to raise our lives up to the worth of the lives
they lived. We chant heroes past why we need present heroes.

How can we exemplify Christ’s life and form of leadership if we

have failed to accept the works of Christmas into our lives? He is
to us a Price of Peace, Emmanuel, one who left all His glory in
heaven taking upon Himself a human body just to serve mankind,
all because He loved us. Only when leaders can truly love those
they are leading can they become to them what they ought to be.
The love that makes people conform to the life of leadership is
only found in Christmas. Only when a man loves like Christ can he
lead like him and allow to be led like him. Leadership at this end is
not only limited to governing a nation, it is also involves leading a
home, a family, a group, a local church, society, community, a
business, even the smallest of a unit. When the love of Christ is
the drive of any form of leadership, fulfilling its responsibilities
becomes easy.

The peace of Christ is not just the matter of the physical it is

holistic in nature. His coming brought to the world, Peace with
God, the Peace of God and Peace in God. For so long, before
Christmas, man has been out of peace with God; due to his
rebellion, he lost his peaceful coexistence with God as well as the
presence of God. This was the first thing Christ came with,
restoring man back to God and God to man. He also brought the
peace of God, His peace that He left and gave; the peace this
world cannot give (John 14:27). Lastly is peace in God, eternal
rest with God. This is the greatest of f this gifts. Jesus did not just
restore us back to God, He also gave us the grace of being with
God right here on earth and finally with Him in eternity, this is the
content of the Christmas parcel sent to us by God.
 CONCLUSION

CHRISTMAS ON EARTH IS BUT FOR A TIME

God has given us all so long a time to appropriate His love into
our lives but this time as its expiring period. The time He gave is
the gift that will not be forever. Just as the Christmas season and
celebration come and go, so will the Christmas that God gave us,
not just Christians but the whole world will cease one day. The
difference is that when this Christmas ceases it cannot be
restored again.

While you still have the time to embrace Christmas, do so. Do not
delay. Now He has given His love, soon He will take away His love
to give His wrath. If you have appropriated His love into your life,
you will not experience His wrath. His wrath is meant for those
who despised His love. There is an eternal path for the experience
of God’s love but it will not be on earth. This earth will soon
expire. What is still keeping it still is the love of God (Revelation
21:1-7).

Save yourself from this corrupt and soon to be destroyed world

while there is still time, while you can (Acts 2:40). Jesus has paid
the price for your salvation on the Cross, He has saved you, but
you also have to in a way save yourself. You have to run away
from the impending destruction of this world by embracing the
offer of His love, Christmas. Embracing this love is very simple
and it can be done now, you make it hard as you procrastinate
your part in this matter.

"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD.

"Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white
as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be
like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat
the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you
will be devoured by the sword." For the mouth of the
LORD has spoken.

Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him

while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the
evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he
will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will
freely pardon.

Isaiah 1:18-20, 55:6-7

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and
I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you
will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my
burden is light."

Matthew 11:28-30

This is the day of salvation, salvation from the day of destruction,

from God’s wrath. Today is another Christmas for the whole world,
but it will look unreal until you make it your own Christmas; make
it the beginning of your fulfilled Christmas.

Lord Jesus, I pray for those who will read these words and those
who will hear of it, even the one reading it now that you will make
this day their Christmas. For those who have experienced
Christmas before, I pray you bring this experience afresh in us.
Jesus the Son of God, you, who came to save us, save now, bring
conviction to our hearts, that your love will no longer be despised.
Convict us all of the evil we have done in despising and rejecting
your love and bring us into your righteousness.

My Prayer this Christmas

Jesus, may your love truly reach every soul on earth. May it cover
the earth as the waters cover the sea. Give us grace to love you
as you expect of us; with our body, soul and spirit, strength and
might inclusive. Transform our lives to the life that will be devoted
to serving you alone. Help us to love others, our neighbors as we
love ourselves. May our love not be limited to just those of our
race and tribe, but to humanity as a whole. May our love be a
daily experience of sharing with others what you have blessed us
with.

God, restore Christmas back to those who have lost it. Bring them
back to where they belong in you. Make Christmas an eternal
experience for all of us, that as we enjoy it now and here on earth,
we will enjoy it more in heaven. Amen