Skip to main content

Smiling Christmas Cards

Tribe of Taylor--June 2018 recycled pic
There's a growing stack of Christmas photo cards that have been arriving daily in the mail. These have replaced the trend of the 90s: the "Christmas letter" (although I did get one of those). Not one picture has a grumpy face in it. That's how I know they're not real.

Someone in at least one of those photos was not having a good time, but they put on the happy face to hide it. You can hide a lot of stuff behind a smile.

Pictures are images of a moment in time when we posed for a camera. The moments immediately before are often chaotic, and the moments after are usually filled with relief. "I can't wait to have another family photo shoot," said one family out of 10,000.

Have you ever wished you could see Jesus in His family photo?

"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost." (Matthew 1:18)

This family photo begins with Jesus Christ, His mother Mary, and His earthly father Joseph. We know from Scripture that Joseph was not the birth father, as Mary was "found with child of the Holy Ghost." The virgin birth has confounded people with and without faith for generations. Child-like faith simply believes God.

Jesus was born of a virgin and then became part of a family that likely had many ups and downs. His parents even lost Jesus in a crowd (Luke 2:42-48). How scary was that? Can you imagine the fear as the parents searched for their Son? Sounds like a totally regular family.

We don't have Christ's family photo, but we do have the historical record of His life in Scripture. The Word of God is the family photo for Jesus, and it is God's Christmas Card to humankind.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God..." (Ephesians 2:8)

Those who have received Christ's free gift of salvation are in the family photo. This is one of the most inclusive families of all time. Seekers are still finding Him, receiving His free gift and being added to the "family photo" every single day. 

And they share the same name: Whosoever.

Maybe you've smiled for a camera, but your soul isn't smiling. If you are facing major uncertainties such as fear of death or not knowing what would happen to your soul if you stopped breathing, God has a remedy for that.

The Bible calls it salvation, and there has never been a greater Christmas gift. 

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:13)


Francie Taylor
Editor's note: Everyone will spend eternity somewhere. If you're not sure where you would go after your final heartbeat, read more about it here, courtesy of First Baptist Church of Rosemount, Minnesota:
https://fbcrosemount.org/salvation/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Was He Trying to Pick a Fight or...?

Why does the garage door malfunction ONLY when we're planning a big event? Or a trip? Or both? Blame it on Murphy's Law? Who was Murphy, anyway? Edward Aloysius Murphy ,  Jr.  (January 11, 1918 – July 17, 1990) was an American aerospace engineer who worked on safety-critical systems. He is best known for his namesake Murphy's law, which is said to state, "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_A._Murphy_Jr. ) Okay all right, so an aerospace engineer is to blame for the poor timing of everything? I don't believe it. But I do believe that God allows things to happen so that He can have His way. The bright orange sticker on the wall in the garage (slapped unceremoniously over the bright yellow sticker on top of the silver sticker) listed the garage door company's phone number. Why do the repairmen paste their company labels on top of the others? Competition? Well then, why not just remove the other ...
12 comments
Read more

Petty Little Things

You worked hard on that church event, but nobody recognized it. You aren't speaking to someone because you're holding a grudge over an offense that's so old it's growing mold. Your family wasn't personally invited to the fellowship (even though it was open to all), so you're considering changing churches. There is not one life-changing issue in this list of oversights, but it's often the little things that trigger big deals. Petty little things. Pettiness is a cause of many unnecessary disputes, leading people to have their days end poorly. Are you allowing some small thing to keep you trapped in a swirling cloud of negative emotions? When we do this, we're being petty, and it hurts us and repels others. Pettiness is a lot like a flu virus; once you catch it, people don't want to get too close, and you will need to get over it before you can function again. Pettiness comes when we allow minor issues to morph into major offenses.  When we re...
13 comments
Read more

Free the Love

On Mt Soledad in La Jolla, CA I love the Lord. He's the best listener, hearing my prayers day after day, year after year. He loved me first, and now my life is one long thank-you note back to God. "I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live." (Psalm 116:1-2) I love my Norman H. Taylor, and I love him freely, richly, deeply. I wasn't just mouthing the words when we said our wedding vows over 30 years ago. We've seen better, worse, richer, poorer, sickness, health, and God has sustained us through it all. We are different, but yet we are one. "And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh." (Mark 10:8) I've learned from my widow friends (including my widowed Mom) to love my Norman without reservation. Family vacation in Pensacola, FL I love my children: Austen, Hillary, and Collin. The...
1 comment
Read more