And yet...

How?  How is this possible?  All of our lives we have heard The Message.  For most of our years, someone has spoken affectionately of this Man named Jesus.  Churches abound and are now mega-centers rather than tiny little country ones that only have two aisles for one to choose which side to sit on.

And yet we are not saved.

How?  How is this possible?

Radios broadcast 24/7 instead of just on Saturday mornings messages of hope, healing, and salvation.  The television itself has numerous preachers on it--male, female, strict, soft--to tickle our ears so that we don't even have to darken the doorways of meeting places anymore.  Even our phones and computers grant us access to The Bible in ways we never had before.  In fact, never has there been an easier way for us to reach out and get in touch with our Saviour and yet...

And yet we are not saved.

How?  How is this possible?

Is there any greater message than the one we are hearing so much now at Christmas?  God allowed His Son--His Son!!--to come to earth as a tiny baby, to grow into a man, and then to become the sacrifice for us who have strayed, who have sinned, who have fallen short.  Movies were made about Him!  Songs are sung of His wondrous love!  Paintings attempt to capture His glory and the stories?  Oh the stories that are written and tell of the miracles He performed!  

And yet...we are not saved.

How?  How is this possible?

Oh Father!  How my soul aches for Your return.  The abuse Your Name suffers on a daily basis sometimes just makes me so ashamed to be a human.  The neglect that surrounds this celebratory time of year as You are barely mentioned hurts my soul as I ponder on just what a Wonder You are.

There are so many, God:  so many who doubt You, curse You, attempt to deny Your existence.  There are so many, Sweet Lord, who claim You on Sunday mornings and forget You the rest of the week.  And then God, there are those who cry out to You in their times of need, remembering those stories, relying on Your grace to forgive them just once more, begging for Your healing for themselves or for their loved ones.  You respond and then, far too often, they return to the lives previously lived, leaving You behind until they can't handle it themselves any longer, and they cry again.

I am sorry, Lord.  I am sorry my earthly sisters and brothers treat You with such low regard.  I am sorry that my life hasn't shown more evidence of Your truth and love.  This Christmas, this day, this moment I ask for more grace, more time, more opportunities to show Jesus, the Hope of Glory, in me so that maybe just one more can see You, one more can meet You, one more can be saved.  Like Abraham, I ask for mercy on my world.  May the righteous be found, Father, and may they continue telling those stories, singing those songs, proclaiming Your Word.  Lead us to them and don't let our patience run out when they continue to deny You.  Help us to love without end and evidence You in our lives is my prayer today, Father God.  In Your Son's holy name I pray.  Amen.