“Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.”
(Hebrews 11:1 NLT)
A tale of two birthdays… A family had twin girls who were opposites in every way except looks. If one felt it was hot, the other thought it was cold. If one said the TV was too loud, the other wanted it turned up. One was an eternal optimist, the other a gloomy pessimist.
Just to see what would happen, on the twins’ birthday their father loaded the pessimist’s room with every imaginable toy and game. The optimist’s room he loaded with horse manure.
That night the father passed by the pessimist’s room and found her sitting amid her new gifts crying bitterly. “Why are you crying?” the father asked. “Because my friends will be jealous, I’ll have to read all these instructions before I can do anything with this stuff, I’ll constantly need batteries, and my toys will eventually get broken,” answered the pessimist twin.
Passing the optimist twin’s room, the father found her dancing for joy in the pile of manure. “What are you so happy about?” he asked. To which his optimist twin replied, ‘”There’s got to be a pony in here somewhere!”
Attitude makes a difference! As Jesus’ birthday approaches on December 25, it is easy to find ourselves worn down by the season, pessimistic about the ads and sales and jingles, dreading the clean-up.
But it is also easy for us to enjoy in the beauty of Christmas, to be blessed in the giving of thoughtful gifts.
On Christmas, we don’t need to peek at our presents. We have faith in the unseen: we know the gift of Christ, heavenly peace in the midst of the world’s whirlwind.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Park
December 30, 2014