Holidays

CHRISTMAS THE GREATEST LOVE STORY EVER TOLD

by GLENN PEASE
12/08/21
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 One of the great love stories of English history is that of the Curfew. A young soldier had committed some offense, and was condemned to die. The time of his death was fixed, "at the ringing of the curfew." Double was the sorrow, for not only was he young, but he was soon to be married to a beautiful young woman, whom he loved dearly. She also loved him deeply. She tried to save his life in various ways. She even tried to bribe the old sexton, so that he would not ring the bell, but all of her efforts failed.

The hour of his death drew near, and the prisoner was brought forth and prepared. They waited for the signal, but to the astonishment of everyone, the bell did not ring. The girl who loved the young man so much, had rushed to the belfry, and seized the tongue of the bell. At the fatal moment, the old sexton began to pull the rope, and the bell reeled to and fro in the tower. The brave girl, however, kept her hold, and prevented the bell from ringing. The sexton was old and deaf, and did not notice that the bell gave no sound. He left, and the girl hurried to the place of execution. She arrived just as Cromwell was sending to demand why the bell did not ring. We then read this poetic conclusion--

And her brow,
Lately white with sorrow, glows with hope and courage now,
at his feet she told her story, showed her hands all bruised and torn,
and her young face still haggard with the anguish it had worn,
touched his heart with sudden pity, lit his eyes with misty light--
Go, your love lives, cried Cromwell; Curfew shall not ring tonight.

Romantic love is beautiful and powerful, but even it cannot match the beauty and power of redeeming love. The greatest love story is not a story of male and female, for this is not the highest level of love. Love on this level can fail. George Matheson was engaged to a girl he loved very dearly. He had trouble with his eyes, and his physician told him he would in a short time lose his sight. He felt it was only right to tell his fiancee, and give her a release from the engagement. So great was his love for her, he felt sure she would not accept it. He told her, and she withdrew her ring and gave it back saying, "I couldn't be tied to a blind man the rest of my life." Matheson, plunged into darkness, sought a love that was beyond the love of any woman. He found it in the love of God, and poured out these words we often sing,"O Love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in Thee,I give Thee back the life I owe, that in Thine ocean depths it flow May richer, fuller be."

The one need that every person on earth has in common, is the need for love. The good news of Christmas is the greatest news on earth, for it is the good news that every person on earth is loved. Everyone plays a role in the greatest love story ever told. Hollywood can come up with some impressive casts, but nothing can match God's production of the greatest love story, for the cast includes all mankind.

Christmas is not just good news to Christians, it is good news to the whole world. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son...." Christmas marks the entrance of the eternal into the earthly, that the earthly might enter the eternal. Christmas is the greatest love story because it, and it alone, provided man with a love sufficient for time and eternity. St Augustine said, "The chief cause of Christ coming was that man might know how much God loves them." Love divine all love's excelling.

God's Christmas gift of His Son proclaims to all men everywhere that God is love. This is the most needed message in the world. Victor Hugo said,"The supreme happiness in life is the conviction that we are loved." Love is the indispensable need of the human heart. Without love men die, but with it they live.

The tragic fact of modern life is that love is so scarce. Aldous Huxley says our contemporary culture is "organized lovelessness." We live in an impersonal world where our relationships are a surface matter, and with little depth or love. Albert Camus in The Plague, is saying, a loveless world is a dead world. Modern literature is echoing the Word of God that says, the world is dead in tresspasses and sin, because, though the light came into the world, men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Men do not need a revelation to know that a loveless world is a dead world, but they do need a revelation to know that God loves the world. The love story of Christmas is the good news that there is light and life for this dark and dead world. A refugee from Siberia, who had been a politcal prisoner of the Communists, told of being separated from his family. He told of long days with no friends, but just dismal coldness, and hard labor. He said the only thing that kept hope alive was the assurance "God loved me." The difference between life and death is in whether or not one is aware of the good news of the greatest love story.

A group of children in a orphanage received a present of a basket of fruit. They promptly proceded to devour it, but one boy set his basket in the window. When asked why, he said, "I want to keep my present so people can see that someone cared for me at Christmas." Millions of people feel orphaned in this universe, because they do not know of God's love. Man's greatest problem is the lack of love. A world torn by hate and war, is a world being smothered, for lack of the oxygen of love. Almost all misbehavior of children and adults, can be traced to their sense of a lack of love. Every man, woman, and child needs to hear that Christmas is the greatest love story every told, because it is the story of God's love for them.

Chuck Swindoll read one of the funniest accounts of a little boy's tough day I have ever seen. I want to share it, for it fits the life of many. It is called, Alexander In The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

" I went to sleep with gum in my mouth, and now there is gum in my hair--
when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skate board and by
mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running.
And I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad
day

At breakfast, Anthony found a corvette stingray car kit in his cereal box,
but in my breakfast cereal box all I found was breakfast cereal. I think
I'll move to Australia.

In the car pool, Mrs. Gibson let Becky have a seat by the window,
Audrey and Elliot got seats by the window too. I said I was being
scrunched, I said I was being smushed and that if I didn't get a seat by
the window I'm going to get car sick--no one even answered. I could
tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
At school Mrs. Dickens liked Paul's picture of the sailboat better
than my picture of the invisible castle. At singing time she said I
sang to loud--at counting time she said I left out 16--who needs 16?
I could tell it was going to be a terrrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
I could tell because Paul said I was not his best friend. He said that
Philip Parker was his best friend, and that Albert Mayo was his next best
friend, but that I was only his third best friend. I hope you set on a tack
I said to Paul. I hope the next time you get a double decker strawberry
ice cream cone, the ice cream part falls off the cone and lands in Australia."

His pathetic account goes on to tell of no dessert in his lunch, a trip to the dentist after school, a slamed door on his foot, a fall into the mud, a bawling out by mom and an accidental call on the phone to Australia. He concludes with these words--

There were lima beans for supper--I hate lima beans. There was kissing on
T.V.--I hate kissing. My bath was to hot, I got soap in my eyes, my marble
went down the drain. I had to wear my railroad train pajamas--I hate my
railroad train pajamas. When I went to bed Nick took the pillow back
he said I could keep--my Mickey Mouse night light burned out and I bit my
tongue. The cat went to sleep with Anthony--not with me. It's been a
terrible, horrible, no good very bad day, but my mom says, there are some
days like that even in Australia.

It is because life is often like this boy's experience that we need the assurance that we are loved, and that there is a better plan of life than what we see in this fallen world. Many become pessimistic because all they can see is the bad days. Someone wrote a limmerick about this perspective.

God's plan had a hopeful beginning
But man spoiled his chances by sinning.
We trust that the story
Will end with God's glory,
But at present the other side's winning.

The power of darkness seems to capture all the headlines, and dominate the front page. What we have today is just a magnified version of the events of the first Christmas. The announcement of the birth of Jesus was made only to a few people, but all the land was aware of the horrible hatred of Herod, who killed the babies of Bethlehem. Darkness always seems to be winning. That is why the world is desperately in need of light, and why the greatest love story needs to be told. Harry Emerson Fosdick said back in 1963, "In our world now antichrist does loom, dark and terrifying. Take a good look at him-antichrist incarnate and black as midnight! Some things are being done on earth this Christmastime so hideous that the mind recoils, seared and blistered with shame, and turbulent with indignation. All the more shall we not say, still in the darkness the light shineth-in that will I believe. Christ never seemed to me so important as now when antichrist is so black." That could have been said in todays paper, for it is as relevant now as ever. Christmas is a message of light that is stronger than the darkness. Christmas is a call to choose sides. Will you be part of the darkness, or will you be part of the light?

As Christians we have made our choice, but at Christmas we should examine our weapon, which is our message, and become more and more convinced that it is adequate. We need to be more and more committed to the belief that the love of God will gain the victory. John 3:16 aids us in coming to this conviction, by emphasizing two things we need to have impressed on our minds. The first is-

I. THE INTENSITY OF GOD'S LOVE.

In a world where most couldn't care less, God couldn't care more. He so loved He gave His only Son.. There is no way to measure the infinite intensity of a love like that. A woman who was told of God's love gift to sinful man said, "I cannot understand such love. I have two children, and I wouldn't give one of them for the best friend I have in the world, yet you tell me that God gave His only Son for His bitterest enemies. I can't understand such love." God's love is beyond the measure of our finite minds.

His love no end nor measure knows,
No change can turn it's course,
Eternally the same it flows
From one eternal source.

God so loved--"so", emphasizes the intensity that is unmeasurable. Never did two letters ever try to convey so much. Charles Spurgeon in his typical eloquence said,

" Come, ye surveyors, bring your chains and try
to make a survey of this word 'so.' Nay, that is
not enough. Come hither, ye that make our
national surveys, and lay down charts for all na-
tions. Come ye, who map the sea and land, and
make a chart of this word 'so.' Nay, I must
go further. Come hither, ye astronomers, that
with your optic glasses spy out spaces before.
which imagination staggers, come hither and
calculate imaginations worthy of all your powers.__
When you have measured between the horns of
space, here is a task that will defy you-'God so
loved the world.' If you enter into that, you will
know that all this love is to you-that while
Jehovah loves the world, yet He loves you as much
as if there was nobody else in all the world to
love."

Christmas is a love story about a love that gets involved. Nobody wants to get involved in other people's problems, but God so loved the world He jumped right into the center of man's mess. He got so involved it cost Him His life. Pilate could wash his hands of Jesus, but Jesus could not wash His hands of Pilate, or of anyone else. So intense was the love of Christ that it could not stop short of the cross. Christmas and the cross are linked, for they both represent the 'so' in God so loved the world.

Here is depth I cannot fathom,
Here is heighth I cannot climb.
Such a lofty elevation
Far beyond all estimation
No love ever so sublime.

Many people misunderstand, and get the perverted idea that Jesus died for our sins, and thereby made it possible for God to love us. This puts love on the wrong end of the Gospel. The cross was not the cause of God's love, it was the expression of His love. God's love was the cause of the cross. A God who doesn't care doesn't count. Millions in our world live with the conviction that God does not care. This is a tragic reality, "for a loving worm within the clod, were better far than a loveless God." The tragedy is doubled because Christians do not communicate the intensity of God's love, nor do they communicate the second aspect of it, which is--

II. THE UNIVERSALITY OF GOD'S LOVE.

God so loved the world. It is joy to the world, not just to Israel or the church. Christmas is the good news of God's love to all men. The love story of Christmas is not exclusive, but is the greatest, just because it is the only love story that is all inclusive. No one, absolutely no one, but God, loved the whole world.

The main door to the famous Church Of The Nativity in Bethlehem was once a normal size door, but today it is so narrow and low, that only one person stooping can enter at a time. The change came because of the Turks who rode their horses into the church, and trampled the sacred star on the floor. They did this to annoy the Christians. To end this desecration, the Christians walled up the doorway to keep horses out. This was certainly a legitimate protective measure. The church has to strive to exclude the world, and stop it's invasion into the realm of the sacred.

It was certainly a mistake, for example, for a church to make a deal with a medicine company, allowing them to print the church hymnals for the privilege of advertising in the hymnal. The company overdid their ingenuity for getting in commericals. The first Christmas hymn went like this,

Hark! The herald angels sing,
Beecham's pills are just the thing;
Peace on earth and mercy mild,
Two for man and one for child.

The story is obviously not true, but things almost as silly take place when the church lets the world invade it. The church goes from one extreme to another and misses the blessing of balance in relation to the world. We are to be in the world but not of it. That is a positive and a negative. The conservative tends to make it two negatives, and is neither in it nor of it. He withdraws from the world in which he is to be the salt and light, and let's it rot in darkness while he keeps safely isolated in the church. The liberal, rightly seeing the futility of this nonsence, over corrects the mistake, and makes two positives of it. He ends up both in the world and of it, destroying the distinction that is necessary for the church to minister to the world. You can't lift the world if you are on the same level with it.

If the greatest love story is going to continue to unfold in our day, Christians must learn to love the world without participating in it's sin, just as Jesus did. As soon as anyone is excluded from our love, we cease to be spokesmen for the God of universal love. Love your neighbor was the Old Testament requirement, but the New Testament enlarges the circle to include your enemies. There is no one whom we are not to love. All are a part of the world which God so loved.

Love has a hem on it's garment
That reaches the very dust.
It can reach the stains
In the streets and lanes
And because it can; it must.
It cannot stop on the mountain;
It is bound to go to the vale;
For it cannot find its fullness of mind
Till it reaches the lives that fail.
UNKNOWN

A man of wealth was a great admirer of the famous artist Murillo, and longed to possess his painting of the Christ-child. One day his search was rewarded. He found a painting bearing the mark of Murillo with the infant Christ as king, surrounded by angels. At once the picture was purchased. But on examination under a glass, it was discovered that the original had been tampered with. The surrounding host of angels was by Murillo's hand, but the child king had been cut out, and a false Christ inserted. For many years the man searched until he found another painting, like his own, which claimed to be a genuine work of Murillo. He bought it also, and under the glass, to his great delight, he found the Christ-child he sought. He skillfully removed the false Christ, and inserted the true Christ from the second picture. The picture is now hanging in an art gallery under the title, "The Restored Christ". We likewise should not be satisfied with any Christ in Christmas, but the one who represents the God who so loved the world. He loved intensely and universally, that He might meet every man's need.

It's the greatest love story that ever was told,
The story of God's love for man.
It's a story that never, no never, grows old,
So tell it as oft as you can.

When Christmas is over, and the new year begun,
The message goes on--God gave us His Son.
No matter what happens, this story is true,
God so loved the world, and He so loves you.

The story is told of the Christian Emperor of Persia, who wanted to find one person, and give them the best Christmas they ever had. He disguised himself as a peasant, and wandered among his people. He went into a factory at noon, and sat by one of the keepers of the fires, as he stopped for lunch. He talked with the worker and the worker offered him part of his lunch. A couple of days later the Emperor returned, and brought his lunch to share with the worker. Day after day he returned, and a warm affection grew up in his heart for this simple fireman.

One day when they finished their lunch, the Emperor told him who he was, and produced the proof. The fireman's face turned white with fear. The Emperor pleaded for him not to be afraid. He said, "I have come to appreciate you as a friend, and want to give you the best Christmas gift you have ever received." The fireman's face lost it's fear and took on a smile. He said, "I've thought of you as one so powerful and strong, that I trembled at the thought of ever meeting you. I didn't know you were like this--so lovable and kind. I have looked forward each day to your coming. I don't want any costly gift, just give me what you have been giving me. Come and sit down, talk to me, and be my friend." The fireman had the best gift, the gift of the Emperor's love. That is the best that God could give, and the best that we can receive. John says that if we receive Jesus, we receive with Him the right to become children of God.

Christmas is a gift of love
That can't be bought or sold,
It's ours just for the asking
And it's worth far more than gold;

And this priceless gift of Christmas
Is within the reach of all,
The rich, the poor, the young and old,
The greatest and the small;

So take God's Christmas gift of love,
Reach out and you receive,
And the only payment that God asks
Is just that you believe.
-Helen Steiner Rice.

If you believe, and Christ you receive, you will be a part of the greatest love story ever told.