River of Life Church
You better not pout, you better not cry, you better be good, I’m telling you why…Does it sound familiar? Much of our childhood leaning reinforces our need to “be good” or we will not get what we want. The bribery of a wanted gift and the threat of the dreaded lump of coal conditions us to believe that we won’t be loved, we won’t measure up, and we will be punished unless we are “good enough”. Are you “good enough”?
What is good enough? Is it perfect obedience to our parents? Our schoolteachers? Our boss or whoever is “in charge”? Is there a standard to follow, a road map to perfection to receive the reward? When we measure ourselves against some perfect requirement, we all fall short. Our failures keep us in that “not good enough” category. Some people spend their lives adding up the reminders of their “not good enough” condition until the hope of receiving any reward is too impossible. The shame of failure and guilt of wrongs appear to be irreversible.
BUT
“Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord” (Lk. 2:10.11)
A Savior is someone who can deliver us from those things that are too strong for us to break, too heavy for us to carry, too broken for us to fix. Someone who will do for us what we could not do for ourselves.
As we celebrate this Christmas season, let us remember that we have all been given gifts of immeasurable value because we have a Savior of infinite love and strength. He gives us His righteousness, His peace, His joy. He makes us perfect and qualified to receive every good and perfect gift. We can’t make ourselves what we need to be, but we can freely receive all we need from the only one who has already purchased the gift with our name on it.
Merry Christmas from Pastors Dan and Dianne and all the River of Life Church staff.