Surprise

Surprise! Throwing a loved one a surprise birthday party is the great way to honor them. But such a party is not easily pulled off since the recipient knows their birthday is approaching and the whole idea is to do all the planning without being detected. In order for the party to be successful many details must be attended to; gathering a guest list, providing the meal, buying the gifts, finding a venue and arranging parking so the surprise will not be spoiled. What are the odds of completely surprising someone? Why would anyone go through all this trouble to create the perfect, "surprise" moment? It is worth it. When the time came for God's only Son Jesus to be born into this world God the Father went out of His way to make it a surprise. Jesus's birth was foretold thousands of years before it happened, people should have known the time was near but, "surprise," God came as a baby. "Surprise", A virgin teenager became pregnant with God. Imagine the surprise for her soon to be husband finding out his fiancé is with child further more knowing for certain this child is not his. For the grand event, God chose a barn in a faraway city as the venue. He orders angels to bring the invitation via singing telegram.  The guest list well, it included the people you would least expect, the poorest of the working poor, shepherds. What a surprise. This month we celebrate Christmas, the birth of Jesus and God's surprising plan for our salvation. God became flesh, lived the perfect life He knew we couldn't. Then He surprised us all by dying a death we should have endured because of our sins. He did all of this to surprise humanity with a gift of salvation for all who believe. Why is the gift of salvation so surprising to so many if we know God's goodness? I think we believe He is good, but we don't feel worthy to receive this goodness. Today God continues to surprise us and as Christians we are called to surprise others who may not feel worthy. In awe of His love for humanity and His love for me, I want to celebrate Christmas God's way, surprising people by sharing His goodness. I want to give gifts people are not expecting; a tank of gas, a twenty dollar bill, a gift card or a cup of coffee. And I want to give more than material things; I want to give from God’s supply of encouragement, understanding, compassion, kindness, love and cheer. I want to give to the unsuspecting, like friends whom I haven't spoken to in some time, neighbors, and strangers. I want to celebrate God's way and I invite you to join me. In our own way, let's surprise humanity with God's goodness and make this their best Christmas season ever.