Monday, December 23, 2013

Christmas Tree Reflections (II)

In the Christmas season when this blog was young (2005), I printed these brief comments from a longtime friend and mentor, Abe Penner. They remain fresh and stimulating.

Christmas Tree Reflections

I find myself staring at the Christmas tree with all the lights and the beauty that it shows, and at times I am reminded of something a Christian said one day at Christmas time. It was very profound and I will always remember it.

He said, "Isn't that tree really pretty with all the lights, decorations and gifts under it? Do you know what that reminds me of? It reminds me of the three trees in Scripture. The first tree was the tree of knowledge, and how Adam and Eve were not to touch it. But because they did touch it, the second tree was necessary, and that was the tree of Jesus' cross on which Jesus died on for our sins.

And that brings me to the third tree. Because of Christ’s death which paid our penalty, believers will be able to partake of the tree of life which is described in Revelation.

And then there’s the Christmas tree lights. They remind me of John 8:12, that Jesus is the light of the world, and that if we follow Him we will be led to life abundant and eternal. The gifts under the tree remind me of God's gift of His Son (John 3:16) Who would die so that we can be saved."

I had never looked at the Christmas tree like that before, and what he said will stick.

(Thanks, Abe. Merry Christmas.)