Merry Christmas from all the Fountains!
“For it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child Himself.” Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it...And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:1-4,14)
In this season, we celebrate the coming of that Word, of the Word, Jesus. I will never get over the wonder of it all: that Almighty God would determine to redeem this broken planet by choosing to become one of us. That divinity, as Eugene Peterson expressed it in The Message,"became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood." A tiny, helpless infant who was also the incarnate, infinite God. The long-promised, mighty Messiah who would save His people from their sins, yet born in a humble manger. Who can grasp that? Who can even begin to comprehend the wonder and glory of the incarnation? Fully God and fully man.
I did some research on—what else—google. Here are just a couple of facts to consider:
-The nearest major galaxy is 2.5 million lights years away.
-One light year is equal to 5.88 trillion miles.
-Conservatively, our Milky Way galaxy has about 100 billion stars and could have as many as 400 billion stars.
-We are only one of at least two trillion galaxies...and we're merely an average-sized galaxy.
-There are likely ten times more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand on the earth (which, by the way, is estimated at 7.5 quintillion--contemplate that the next time you're building a sand castle). We're talking an unimaginable number of stars.
Now ponder these verses:
"He determines the number of the stars; He gives to all of them their names." (Ps.147:4)
"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork." (Ps.19:1)
“And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” Col.1:17
Think back to John 1:2—“All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.”
We share all this as a reminder of just who that baby born in the manger truly was and is. As the apostle John reiterates, Jesus, Emmanuel, is also the omniscient and omnipotent Creator and Sustainer of the universe. There is nothing that He cannot do. Nothing that He does not know. Nothing that can thwart His plans or His hand. If He can fashion such awesome enormity as we glimpse in the heavens, what are our problems to Him? Sure, our difficulties and challenges can feel overwhelming and huge to us...but not to Him. Look at who He is and what He has done. He spoke the vast universe into being. He created every individual on the face of the earth. He knows and loves each of us, not merely collectively, but individually and intimately. And He chose to enter His own creation in order to redeem and save those He created and loved. He lived the perfect life none of us could live, died the death we each deserved for our sins, and rose again to new life so that we, too, might enjoy eternal, resurrection life.
Be encouraged that whatever sorrows or setbacks you might be enduring right now, whatever difficulties or disappointments you might be facing, Jesus can handle it. All of it. Nothing is too big or too challenging for Him, the Word, through whom all things were made. And never forget, no darkness has, or will ever, overcome Him. He is the Light of the world.
May your Christmas this year be filled with His unstoppable light and His unconquerable love. Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Merry Christmas and much love, All the Fountains
(p.s. In case you are interested in a brief update on our crew, here it is below: Mary Norris and Matt Tilmes live in Charlotte and welcomed Eleanor Jane (Ella) on November 23, 2021. She joins big sister, Emily, who is now three years old. Needless to say, they are our joy and delight, and grand-parenting truly cannot be oversold. It is the best! Casey and Richard, who also live in Charlotte, are expecting their first baby in March, and we're all mighty excited! Janie really enjoys working and living in, where else, Charlotte! What can I say? I can't get anyone to move to Raleigh despite my relentless Chamber of Commerce-worthy plugs for our city. But it's always pure joy to go to Charlotte and get to see grand-babies and three of our five children. So for the record, the "Queen City" is growing on us! Preyer lives in Washington, D.C. and will be marrying Maddie Grace Hough in March. We are all thrilled! Finally, Peter, a junior at UNC-CH, continues to love being at Carolina and playing golf for the Tar Heels. Go Heels! We're also incredibly thankful that all my siblings and their spouses, as well as Richard's 94 year old daddy (who is remarkable!), are all doing well. It's always such a gift to be with them! Oh, and we can't forget our beloved lab, Mr. Bingley (who, despite his incredible good looks, inexplicably failed to make the card this year. A major faux pas). Bingley continues to love hauling huge sticks down the greenway, chasing after deer, and having any of the children come home. Merry Christmas!)
No comments:
Post a Comment