DECEMBER 8, 2014
Stones
Cry Out
Read: Luke 19:28-40
I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would
immediately cry out. —Luke 19:40
Every year it seems that Christmas becomes more and more
commercialized. Even in nations where the majority of people call themselves
“Christian,” the season has become more about shopping than worshiping. The
pressure to buy gifts and plan elaborate parties makes it increasingly
difficult to stay focused on the real meaning of the holiday—the birth of Jesus,
God’s only Son, the Savior of the world.
But every holiday I also hear the gospel coming from surprising
places —the very places that so commercialize Christmas—shopping malls. When I
hear “Joy to the World! The Lord is come; let earth receive her King” ringing
from public address systems, I think of the words Jesus said to the Pharisees
who told Him to silence the crowds who were praising Him. “If they keep quiet,”
Jesus said, “the stones will cry out” (Luke 19:40 niv).
At Christmas we hear stones cry out. Even people spiritually
dead sing carols written by Christians long dead, reminding us that no matter
how hard people try to squelch the real message of Christmas, they will never
succeed.
Despite the commercialism that threatens to muddle the message
of Christ’s birth, God will make His good news known as “far as the curse is
found.”
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found. —Watts
Keeping Christ out of Christmas is as futile as holding back the
ocean’s tide.
Insight
Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt was a
fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9. The salvation Christ brings is
what all creation is waiting for (see Rom. 8:19-20) and is a message that
cannot be silenced (Luke 19:40).
Source:
Our Daily Bread 2012