Christmas Eve

Once upon a time there was a man named Bill Jones who lived in Athens Georgia. One day he went to the bus station in Athens to buy a ticket to Greenville, SC. The ticket clerk sold him a ticket and told him that the bus was running a little late.

Since he had some time on his hands, Mr. Jones thought he’d walk around the terminal and see what there was to see. So it was that he came upon a machine that looked like one of those old fashioned computers, with all sorts of flashing lights and dials on it. There was a sign that advertised that for 50¢, this machine would tell you your name, your age, your hometown, and other interesting facts about yourself.

Well Bill Jones was curious, and somewhat skeptical, so he fished around in his pocket for 50¢ and put it in the machine. The machine whirred and buzzed for a moment and then, sure enough, a little card came out of a slot and here is what it said:

“Your name is Bill Jones, you’re 37 years old, you live in Athens, Georgia and you’re waiting for a bus to Greenville, South Carolina, but the bus is running late.”

Well Bill was absolutely stunned. This machine did exactly what it said it would do. How could it possibly know all this information about him? He had never even been in the bus terminal before.

Thinking that it must be some sort of trick, Bill decided to try it again. So he fished around for another 50¢ and put it in the machine. The machine whirred and buzzed and spit out another card:

“As I told you already, your name is Bill Jones. You are 37 years old. You live right here in Athens, Georgia. You’re still waiting on that bus to Greenville, SC. And the bus is going to be delayed a little bit longer.”

Well, by now Bill was hooked. He was just amazed at this incredible machine’s ability to tell him all about himself. But he thought to himself “I’m going to see if I can stump this machine.”

So he practically ran out of the bus terminal and down the street to a department store where he bought one of those Groucho Marx disguises. You know—the ones with the funny glasses and big nose and thick eyebrows and mustache. Then he went to another store and bought a wig and some fake ears and a cane.

He hurried back to the bus station wearing his disguise, and approached the machine, leaning on his cane and hobbling like an old man. His hands were trembling with excitement as he put another 50¢ into the slot. The machine whirred and buzzed for a few seconds and then another card came out. It said…

“Well. I see it’s you again. Your name is still Bill Jones. You are still 37 years old. You still live in Athens Georgia and you’re still waiting on that bus to Greenville SC. But the only problem is that while you were out messing around, you missed the bus.”

When it comes to Christmas, I hope that that doesn’t happen to any of us. Christmas can be a time of incredible hustle and bustle—we go to parties, we get caught up in the frantic rush to get all our Christmas shopping done, we run up huge bills on our credit cards.

And while we’re out messing around, we miss the bus. We entirely miss the true meaning of Christmas.

Several years ago, the newspapers reported the following true story. A group of people in Cleveland, Ohio decided to throw a surprise birthday party for one of their friends who was turning 40 that year.

They got together and organized the party in great detail. They set up several committees to take care of the arrangements for food and entertainment and decorations. There was a great hustle and bustle of excitement as they got ready for the big event.

Finally the evening of the party arrived, and all was in readiness. The hall was rented, the decorations were in place, the food was prepared, the entertainment was rehearsed and ready, and the guests were all there.

And then suddenly something dawned on them. Everything had been taken care of in meticulous detail except for one thing—they had forgotten to invite the guest of honor. They made a frantic last minute phone call, and guess what? They found out that the man was out of town on a business trip. So you know what they did? They went ahead and had the party without him.

That’s a lot like Christmas is for many people. They’re having a big birthday party, but the guest of honor—Jesus Christ—hasn’t even been invited.

My kids tell me that in our public schools these days, you can have a class party, but you’re not allowed to call it a Christmas party, because the name Christ is in there.

How about you? Is Jesus Christ going to be part of your Christmas this year? After all, Christmas is His birthday.

You know, there are a lot of opinions out there on who Jesus is. Many people say that Jesus Christ came to show us the way to God. But that’s not true. The Bible doesn’t say that He came to show us the way to God—He came to BE the way to God.

Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.” So if we’re going to have a relationship with God, it’s going to have to be through Jesus, because there is no other way. He’s the only way.

There once was a father who wanted to teach his young children a very important spiritual lesson. So one night he gathered his family at the foot of the stairs, and then he went up and sat on the top step. He said to them “I want you to come up to be with me here on the top step, but you’re not allowed to touch the stairs, the walls, or the railings to get here.”

Well, the children thought and thought about the problem. How could they possibly get up to where their Dad was if they couldn’t touch the stairs, the walls, or the railings?

But then one of the children said “Daddy, if you come down here, we could ride up on your back.”

That’s what Jesus came here to do—he came down here to earth to carry us up to God. Because we can’t get to heaven on our own. Only Jesus can get us there.

Have you put your trust in Him to be your Savior? The Bible says that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son (and that gift is what Christmas is all about) that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

If you put your trust in Jesus, he will carry you to heaven. So let’s not have a Christmas without Christ this year. And let’s make sure that we are trusting in Him for our salvation, not in ourselves.

Turn in your hymnals to #147 - Silent Night