There’s an ancient Scottish legend that tells of a shepherd boy tending to a few straggling sheep on the side of a mountain. One day as he cared for his sheep, he spotted a beautiful flower—more beautiful than he had ever seen. Instinctively he scooped it up into his hands admiring its beauty. Suddenly he heard a terrific, deafening noise. Right before his eyes the mountain opened. As he walked through the opening, he came upon a large Pirates of the Caribbean sized room filled with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, gold and silver.

Walking inside he laid the flower down and began scooping up as much as he could. With pockets overloaded and arms full, he turned to leave. He heard a voice, “Don’t forget the best!” Thinking that he had overlooked some choice treasure, he stuffed even more into his pockets, and piled more in his arms. Again he heard the voice, “Don’t forget the best!” But he simply could not carry any more treasure so he left the mountain with every nook and cranny bulging with his newfound wealth. As the mountain closed behind him, all of his treasure turned to dust. A third time he heard the voice, “You forgot the best, for the beautiful flower is the key to the vault of the mountain.”

As we gather this Christmas Sunday, surely we don’t want to forget the best. We don’t want to forget the joys and experiences of Christmas, especially those of us who have small children in our families. Christmas is a time of making memories for our children and grandchildren. It’s a time of capturing those memories in photo albums or videotape so that our progeny years from now can look in wonder and even laughter at turn of the century Christmases. This past Thanksgiving the Ruff family pulled out some of our slides and remembered when our kids were toddlers. “Mom, you looked so young!” “Dad, I didn’t know you were so skinny!” And so we relive those special moments and memories. For some this has been a year to remember—a wedding, a graduation, a new baby, a new grandchild, a new job or big promotion, a new house, even a new church family.

And of course there are those hard and difficult events and experiences—the death of a loved one, the battle with cancer, that devastating job loss, that unexpected pregnancy, a loved one sent off to Iraq—that which we would like to forget. Charles Kuralt, former CBS commentator once said, “There are three kinds of memories—good, bad, and convenient.” We want to keep those sweet memories and there are some things we simply need to forget. An old Japanese proverb says, “My skirt with tears is always wet—I have forgotten how to forget.”

As we move through Christmas 2006 just as that shepherd-boy made his way out of the mountain, we do not want to forget the best or else the ‘jewels’ of ’06 may turn to dust. It was John Wesley who reminded us what the best is. On his deathbed Wesley said, “The best is—God is with us!” The Biblical word for this is Emmanuel, meaning “God with us.”

God with us—that is the best news we could ever carry into our Christmas celebrations. God with us. Our problems and our inadequacies seem to fade in the light of this staggering reality. If God is with us, is there anything we cannot do? Christmas reminds us that God is with us and that nothing is too great for Him.

It was Simeon, the priest, a righteous and devout man who recognized at once who this baby being brought into the temple was. According to the law Mary and Joseph brought their newborn son to dedicate Him to the Lord. They did this by offering a sacrifice in the Temple. This sacrifice was 2 turtledoves or two young pigeons. There are 2 things that stand out here. The first is that this sacrifice of 2 doves or pigeons is that sacrifice suitable for those of low economic means. We are not talking wealthy, privileged, high society-type people here. We are talking about ordinary people allowing God to do extraordinary things through them. This is how God would begin the salvation of the world. He would start not at the top of society but at the bottom. You and I have a most difficult time dealing with the idea that our most important treasures are those we lay up in heaven and not on earth. Jesus’ whole life was one of dependence on other people—from his manger bed, to His daily food, even to His borrowed grave.

A second fact is only speculation for as Mary offered up the sacrifices in the Temple for her newborn son, how could she possibly have imagined that one day her baby boy would be offered up as the sacrifice to end all sacrifices. Mary, did you know? Could she in here wildest dreams see her son agonizing in the Garden of Gethsemane praying, “Not my will, but Thine be done?” It is quite probable that she could not and it is could that she could not. It is good that while we yearn to know the future, we don’t know the future because if we did know the future, we couldn’t handle knowing the future!

Luke’s gospel tells us that Simeon recognized immediately that this was the Christ-Child. The Lord told Simeon that he would see the Messiah before he died. Simeon’s song is a beautiful song of praise and hope and fulfillment. As he took the baby Jesus in his arms you hear Simeon’s words, “Lord, now let your servant depart in peace according to your word: for my eyes have seen Your salvation which you have prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of Your people, Israel.”

Then Simeon turned to Joseph and Mary who at this point are no doubt a bit perplexed and amazed, and announced to them that their child is very special because He would be a blessing to the world. Emmanuel—God with us. Can you sense both Simeon’s excitement as well as his contentment?

Dr. Murdo Ewan MacDonald, a Scottish pastor, was a prisoner of war in Germany during WW II. It was early one morning that he learned that the Allied forces had invaded France at Normandy. An American soldier shook him awake shouting, “The Scotsman wants to see you. It’s terribly important.” MacDonald says that he ran over to the barbed wire fence where a Scotsman by the name of MacNeil was waiting for him. MacNeil had been in touch with the BBC underground radio. As these two prisoners huddled beside the barbed wire, MacNeil spoke two words in Gaelic, “They have come.” MacDonald ran back to the prison barracks waking up the other prisoners shouting again and again, “They have come! They have come!” The reaction was incredible. Those prisoners leaped out of bed and started to shout. They hugged each other, ran outside and hoped and hollered. They rolled on the ground with joy. They acted like little kids on Christmas morning. They acted like the Eagles had just won the Super Bowl! The Germans thought they were crazy. Keep in mind these men were still prisoners. Nothing had changed, but indeed everything had changed. They knew something even the German guards didn’t know—“They have come!” And because of knowing that one little bit of information, everything was changed, everything was different. Their deliverers were on their way—it was only a matter of time.

The message to us prisoners of sin this Christmas is that the Savior has come. Jesus is born. He has come! Now it is only a matter of time. That is the feeling that must have caused the elderly Simeon to sing out as he did. “He has come. Now I can die in peace. He has come—He has not forgotten.” The best is God is with us. A voice speaks to us out of the mountain of God, “Don’t forget the best!”

How easy it is to settle for the common to accept the mediocre in our lives rather than God’s best. C T Studd grew up in England. He was a great athlete, a star cricket player who made headlines throughout his country. Academically he was at the top of his class. CT Studd was from a wealthy family and always had the best money could buy. When he met Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, he said, “If Jesus be God and died for me, there is no sacrifice too great for me to make for Him.”

Prior to his marriage he gave away half of his wealth. When his fiancé heard that he had given away half his wealth, she asked him, “Charlie, what did Jesus tell the rich young ruler to do?” “Sell all,” he answered, and then he continued, “Well, we too, will start clear with the Lord at our wedding.” All of his wealth went overseas to Christian mission work. It wasn’t long before they followed their money and gave their lives in missionary service to the people of Africa.

CT Studd lived his life according to the principle we all need to apply, “If Jesus be God and He died for me, there is no sacrifice too great for me to make for Him.”

This Christmas, 2006 the best is—God is with us. What a life transforming statement that can be for you. Don’t forget the best!

Thank You for Taking The Time to Read This Message.
May God Use These Words to Help You and Strengthen You.