K.I.S.S.

 

If I had hair, I would look like Albert Einstein! LOL!

I love this quote and it certainly is true about sharing your faith. I thoroughly enjoy talking about God, Jesus, and the Bible. I do not claim to be an expert. Every time I open God's word, talk to someone about God's word, pray, or sit through a message at Church, I learn something new. Yep, I spent three years in seminary. I loved that experience because I learned so much. But when I graduated with my Masters last spring, I was not done learning. 

If you are a Christian and have had faith for any time, you have heard the Christmas story hundreds of times. We know it by heart. This past week with my Sunday night Discovery Bible Group we talked about the Christmas Story. We mostly talked about the REAL story, not the common story. We talked about things like, where was Jesus born, what was the inn, was Joseph unprepared and inept at planning his trip? In the coming week, we will talk about the Wisemen. How many were there? When did they show up? Did they see the newborn Jesus? In all reality, how does our fictional version of Christmas affect the meaning and message of Christmas?

I'm sure you have heard of the KISS method -- Keep It Simple Stupid or if you prefer -- Keep It SUPER Simple! So, I agree with Einstein. The message of Christmas is simple and the details CAN interfere with that message. Here is the message: God came to earth as a baby. He was born and raised in humble surroundings. His arrival was heralded by the angels, lowly shepherds, and important world leaders. He came with the single purpose of saving us from our sins (Matthew 1:21) If you can't explain that message to your friends, your kids, your grandkids, your coworkers, your classmates, or the man on the street, you don't know the story well enough.

Our faith is just as simple as the story of Christmas. As I read 1 John today, I loved John's simple message:

"We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother and sister in need but shows no compassion -- how can God's love be in that person? Dear Children, let's not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God." (1 John 3:16-19)

"And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. Those who obey God's commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us." (1 John 3:23,24)

Do you understand this message? Can you explain this to those that you will meet today? If you can't you do not understand the message of Christmas. Yes, Christmas was just the beginning. It set this simple message in motion. Regardless of whether there were three wise men or ten, the message is the same!