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enry Carter was working feverishly trying to prepare something fresh for his Christmas sermon when he was disturbed by a knock on his study door. It was the dorm mother of the church’s home for disturbed children. There was a crisis upstairs with one of the boys. Most of the boys go home for Christmas and only a few were left behind and were feeling very much abandoned and unloved.

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Henry reluctantly followed the dorm mother up the stairs to the small dormitory chafing inwardly at yet another interruption. This time it was Tommy. He had crawled under his bed and refused to come out. The woman pointed to one of the beds. Not even a toe showed so Henry addressed the cowboys and bucking broncos on the bedspread. He told them of the beautifully decorated Christmas tree with all the presents in the church next door … and how there was a special present for Tommy.

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Tommy was not impressed and continued to “play dead.”

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Henry’s frustration increased as he knelt down on all fours and lifted the bedspread. As he peered under the bed his eyes met two enormous blue eyes—expressing the fear and pain Tommy was experiencing. Henry could have easily pulled little eight-year-old-looking-like-a-five-year-old child from under the bed, but he knew that this wouldn’t help. It was trust, not coercion, that Tommy needed—plus he needed to make the decision to come out by himself. So Henry tried as best he could to get Tommy excited about the special Christmas supper to be offered after the service, the wonderful presents, and the stocking filled with magnificent Christmas gifts with Tommy’s name on it.

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All to no avail.

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Not being able to think of anything
else to say Henry just laid there
in silence beside Tommy.

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So…what else could Henry do? He got down on his stomach and wriggled himself under the bed to lay with his cheek pressed into the floor beside Tommy. Not a word he said seemed to have any effect. Not being able to think of anything else to say Henry just laid there in silence beside Tommy. It seemed like such a long time but as Henry patiently waited, in time a small, cold hand crept into his.

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After a while Henry said, “You know, Tommy, it’s pretty uncomfortable under here. Let’s you and me go where we can stand up.”

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Ever so slowly they did.

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Henry had no more worries about finding a Christmas message.¹

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Neither could I think of a clearer illustration for this Christmas season. You and I, because of our sin, had been separated from our Heavenly Father God who loves us with an everlasting love. While not abandoned by God, our sinfulness cut us off from him and we were left lost in a world of sin and darkness, doomed for an eternal hell—whatever and wherever that may be—to be forever separated, not only from God, but also from all that is good and all that is loving.

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So, in his loving mercy, Jesus Christ the eternal Son of God, laid aside his external robes of deity and, clothing himself in a garment of human flesh, stepped out of the Ivory Palaces of Heaven, to come to where you and I are so he could identify with us and save us from our despair and eternal lostness.

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Sad to say so many of us do not realize the terrible plight we are in without God. Many reason that if God is a God of love, how could he ever send anyone to hell? The fact is that God doesn’t send us to hell. If we reject his mercy and his full and free pardon, we send ourselves there. This is because God is a God of absolute holiness and no sin or sinner can ever exist in his presence. Furthermore, because God is absolutely just, all sin must be judged—and that judgment is eternal death which is eternal separation from a holy and just God. Fortunately, however, God is also a God of absolute love and because he loved us, he sent his Son, Jesus, to pay the penalty for our sin, the penalty that God’s justice demanded.

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If God is a God of love, how could
he ever send anyone to hell?

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You may not be aware of it but Jesus is waiting and tenderly calling for you to respond to his love and mercy. He has the gift of forgiveness for all your wrongdoing and sinful acts and, with his forgiveness, the gift of eternal life. He’s been hiding in the shadows patiently waiting for you to reach out and put your hand in his so he can lead you out of your lostness into his eternal day and eternal life.

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Why not answer God’s call today? You can do so by praying a simple prayer such as the following:

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\"Dear God, how can I ever thank you enough for loving me so much that you sent your Son, Jesus, to come to earth on that first Christmas. I admit and confess that I am a sinner and am sorry for all the wrongs that I have done. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins. Please forgive me. And I invite you, Jesus, to come into my heart and life as Lord and Savior. I commit and trust my life to you. Please give me the desire to be what you want me to be and to do what you want me to do. Thank you for dying for my sins, for your free pardon, for your gift of eternal life, and for hearing and answering my prayer. Amen.\"

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If you prayed this prayer, please Click HERE and fill in the response form and we will send you the URL for the free copy of the e-Brochure, “How to Grow” to help you in your new Christian life. (Note: If you are on any other than that of the main website of ACTS International, click on the \"My Commitment\" or \"Yes to God\" button or link at the bottom of this page.)

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In the words of the songwriter, William E. Booth-Clibborn

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Down From His Glory
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Down from His glory, ever living story,
My God and Savior came, and Jesus was His name;
Born in a manger to His own a stranger,
A man of sorrows, tears and agony!
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Oh how I love Him! How I adore Him!
My breath, my sunshine, my all in all!
The great Creator became my Savior,
And all God\'s fullness dwelleth in Him!
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