Stages and Ages

 

The stages of a horse's life are fun to watch.  He is born and stands up for the first time on wobbling legs and before you know it, he is running around the mom.  Then he gets to be a horse for a short time while he nurses his mom.  Other stages are reached at certain ages and by careful planning as to what his future will be. Time comes for  halter breaking, the first saddling, the first time to carry a person on his back and then his training begins.  All of this happens in stages of time.  Each stage is built upon the one before it until the plan for that horse is reached.  If he gets stuck in one of the stages, success is never attained and his potential may never be reached.

 

Here it is Christmas time - the time when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus is depicted as the Christ child or the helpless baby in the manger.  Christmas is the biggest Holiday of the year as far as money spent in the market place.  It is the biggest Christian Holiday.   The second biggest Christian holiday is Easter.  Christ is depicted at Easter time as the sacrifice hanging helpless or dead on the cross. These two holidays are wonderful.  We need to remember that Christ came in the form of a baby born in the lowliest of conditions.  We need to remember that he willingly became a sacrifice for us and died in humiliation nailed to a tree in between two thieves.  We can look back at those two events and realize that our very eternal life depended upon those two events and our belief in the one who was born, died and rose for us.  We need to celebrate that Jesus made a way for us to live eternally through acceptance of Him.   

 

We also need to look forward as we celebrate Christmas.  We need to think of the next stages of the life of Jesus Christ.  He is right now at the right hand of the Father interceding for us.  (Romans 8:27)  But the day is coming when Jesus Christ becomes judge.  He will judge Christians at what is known as the judgment seat of Christ.  You can read about that judgment in  1 Corinthians 3 11-15 and 2 Corinthians 5:10.  We are going to be judged individually at that time and later we will be judged corporately as a nation.  The description of Christ in that stage is quite unlike what the modernists have depicted him to be.  He will have fire in his eyes and a sword in his hand and will be clothed with a vesture dipped in blood.  He comes in that stage to judge, make war and rule.  You can read about Him in Revelations 19.  I shudder in a reverent fear when I think of the day that I will stand in front of the King of Kings and give account of everything that I have done, said and thought.   I know that I am covered by His blood and forgiven, but I also know that I need to live my life remembering that I need to walk repenting of wrongs that I commit. I know that to walk in direct disregard to His Word is to bring judgment upon myself.   

 

I shudder when I think that the United States of America has aborted over 40,000,000 babies since the Roe/Wade decision.  We all got real patriotic when the terrorists hit our country, yet we have allowed unborn babies to suffer horrible deaths at the rate of 5000 a day in our country.  Abe Lincoln once said that the strength of a nation is not measured by its economy but by its ability to get prayers answered.  It has been said a lot lately that if God does not remove his hand of protection from us, he will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.  But, He will hear our prayers if we humble ourselves and turn and repent.  (2 Chronicles 7:14)  

 

Think of Jesus Christ in the light of the coming stages of His life.  Perhaps we need some repenting parties instead of "dirty Santa parties."   Perhaps we need to fall on our knees instead of dancing.  Perhaps we need to individually and corporately celebrate this Christmas by examining our lives in the light of the coming age.  I wish you and me a repenting Christmas celebration!