If you have ever felt unloved, unworthy or useless, you need to think again. That is the message of Christmas which is often glossed over or simply forgotten in the hubub of Christmas preparations.

Stephen Brown, in his book, If God Is In Charge (Baker Book House, October 1994), tells a wonderful story about a young couple that says a great deal about the Incarnation: “She was eighteen and he was nineteen when they met. They fell in love, and one year later they were married. Some six years and three children later, she decided while standing before the kitchen sink with a pile of dirty dishes and with a pile of dirty diapers on the floor, that she just couldn’t stand it any more. She took off her apron and just walked out the door.

Sometimes she would call home to check on the children, and on those occasions he would tell her how much he loved her, and he would ask her to come home. Each time she refused.

“After a number of days, he hired a private detective to find his wife. The report said she was living in a second-class hotel in Des Moines, Iowa. He packed his bags, placed the children under the care of a neighbor, and took a bus to Des Moines. He found the hotel and made his way to her room. When he knocked on the door, his hand trembled because he didn’t know the kind of reception he would receive. His wife opened the door, stood for a moment looking at him in shocked silence, and then fell apart in his arms. “Later, at home, when the children were in bed, he asked her a question that had long troubled him: `Why wouldn’t you tell me where you were when you called? You knew I loved you. Why didn’t you come home?’ “She replied, `Before, your love was just words. Now I know how much you love me because you came.'”

God came! That’s the glorious message of Christmas. It is the message of the Apostle John when he says, The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

God came into the world because of love … love for you, love for me, and love for the countless weary souls who have lost their way.

You are loved, you are valued,

Many blessings

Reverend Shan