Some time ago, I wrote about the famous Dr. Seuss book, “Green Eggs and Ham.” In it, a character, named Sam (“Sam I am”) encourages the nameless narrator to try a strange dish– ham and eggs that are bright green! After several exchanges in which the narrator insists he will NOT try the dish, Sam’s enthusiasm wears him down and he agrees to try a bite. Surprise– He LOVES green eggs and ham! He spends the rest of the book enthusiastically affirming how much he loves the dish, thanking Sam for insisting that he try them.
We just celebrated Easter. The Resurrection, I would argue, is much more important than trying a new breakfast dish. But how many of us are as enthusiastic as Sam in trying to get our families, friends, and neighbors to “taste” the amazing gift of Eternal Life? Would we witness on a train? In a car? In the rain? Would we witness to a grumpy, resistant person like the narrator of “Green Eggs and Ham?” And if not, why not?
And would we pray for the unsaved? In a tree? On a boat? With a goat? In our house? With a mouse? Here or there? Anywhere? What kind of enthusiasm do we show for making disciples? Do we seek to pray for our neighbors? With our neighbors? With those who are struggling with doubts or fears? For those who resist the message of Christ? Does our confidence in the Gospel of Christ equal the confidence of Sam in ham and eggs? Shouldn’t our joy and commitment exceed Sam’s? After all, our “product” is unending, everlasting, unconditional Love from a God who came to earth and died to save each one of us!
We carry the amazing treasure of God’s Power to save, redeem, and reconcile! Let us not get discouraged as we share the good news and as we pray for God to continue His work in a broken world!
In the Dr. Seuss classic, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!,” the bitter and devious Grinch tries to “steal” Christmas from the village of Whoville. He steals all the things the Whos of the village seem to need in order to celebrate a holiday he hates. He hates their gift exchanges, their feasting, their singing, and their general happiness, all of which serve to remind him of his own loneliness and gloom.
With mounting glee, the Grinch proceeds to pile up his hoard of goodies– presents, decorations, food, anything that could serve to make the holiday cheery and bright. He loads up all his stolen loot and takes it to the top of a mountain, where he plans to dump it. But first, he stops to savor the shock and pain he expects to hear as the Whos discover that their holiday has been ruined. He waits in the cold of a clear dawn to hear wailing and lamenting, but the sound he hears instead is singing…the Whos have come together to sing a hymn of gratitude and peace. There is no lamenting; there is no distress. Instead there is a peaceful acceptance that the new day has brought joy and goodwill that has nothing to do with all the trappings of celebration.
He hadn’t stopped Christmas from coming. It came! Somehow or other it came just the same. And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, Stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.
The first Christmas came without any of the festive trappings we’ve added over the years. There were no groups of cheery carolers; no jingle bells and tinsel; no greeting cards or candy canes. Jesus came in the dead of night, in the midst of chaos and terror, as people were groaning under the oppression of an invading empire, being forced to travel long distances to be counted and taxed by their oppressors. There were no Christmas parties, no brightly decorated trees, no stockings filled with treats, no cookies and cocoa on a cold night. The gifts would come later– and they would be followed by death threats and exile! But Jesus came! He came just the same!
This year, Christmas will come– with or without ribbons or tags. Christmas will come to those who are homeless, and those who are lonely in palaces and mansions. Christmas will come in spite of efforts to erase the holiday from our culture. It will come just like the dawn of each new day– quiet in its wonder and glorious in its simplicity. Christmas doesn’t come wrapped in shiny paper or announced with blaring horns and neon lights. Christmas comes just as Christ came so many years ago–wrapped in rags, laid in a straw bed on a cold, dark night; announced to simple people going about their business, signaled by a single star ignored by most, wondered at by others. Christmas will seep into the hearts and eyes of those with child-like faith and willing to sing when things are darkest.
God chooses to come in simplicity– He creeps like the dawning day; He sighs like a gentle breeze; He comes as a harmless infant, or a wandering teacher and healer. And when our Christmas Day comes without ribbons and boxes or feasting and lights– it will come just the same. Christ will enter darkened hotel rooms and alleys, He will sit beside hospital beds and in makeshift refugee shelters. He will sneak into homes where Christians huddle in secret, and He will knock gently on the doors of the lonely and the lost. Because Christmas DOESN’T come from a store. It doesn’t come from our bounty and our glittering decorations. It comes from the heart– the heart of God, who SO loved the world, that He came! And He will come this year, just the same!
Pursuing Prayer 