UNEXPECTED SACRIFICE

The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
Unexpected Sacrifice

After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the damage. One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Startled by the eerie sight, he knocked the bird over with a stick. When he struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under their dead mother’s wings.

The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings. She could have flown to safety but refused to abandon her babies. When the blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her small body, the mother had remained steadfast. She had been willing to die so that those under the cover of her wings would live.

When we look at the Christmas story, we can’t help but observe some amazing, unexpected Christmas encounters. We see how the lowly couple, Mary and Joseph were called to unexpected glory. They had seemed insignificant to society but were elevated to the position of parents to the Messiah, the Son of God. These two small town peasants would be held in high esteem by the entire world. All of this came through God’s plan.

Then we observe how the lonely shepherds were given an unexpected invitation by the Angels and were brought from loneliness to relationship with God through His Son. Sin has separated mankind from God and left us in a lost and lonely condition, but Christ welcomes each and every one of us to a personal relationship with God through Him.

Finally, we can’t help but to notice the Unexpected Humility discovered by the Kings in the east when they lowered themselves to the point of worshipping the little baby in Bethlehem because they recognized His superiority as Son of God. The Christmas message brings us to our own recognition of these same facts so we must worship Him.

Then there is the ultimate unexpected Christmas encounter we find when we see Christ’s reason for coming as God in flesh. It was to find us and bring us back to God. It was for the purpose of taking the punishment we deserved upon himself as we examine the powerful prophecy Isaiah made concerning Christ over 700 years before He came as told in Isaiah 53,
Like the mother bird in our illustration, Jesus Christ covered us under His wings and willingly suffered on a tree, not at its base, but on the tree of the cross itself. He could have avoided the pain at any point, but He hung in there, so that you and I could encounter forgiveness for our sins and live with him forever.

This Sunday we will look at the opportunities God offers us in the brand-new year. We will share a message titled MAKE A FRESH START, Preparing for the New Year, based on Isaiah 43:18-19. Come and see the challenge and encouragement God has for us in 2025,

Changed by His Sacrifice,
Jon